Group B
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This article is about motor racing regulations. For other uses, see Group B (disambiguation).

An Audi Quattro S1, one of the most powerful Group B cars.
Group B was a set of regulations introduced in 1982 for competition vehicles in sportscar racing and rallying regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The Group B regulations fostered some of the fastest, most powerful, and most sophisticated rally cars ever built and is commonly referred to as the golden era of rallying.[1] However, a series of major accidents, some of them fatal, were blamed on their outright speed and lack of crowd control at events. After the death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver Sergio Cresto in the 1986 Tour de Corse, the FIA disestablished the class, dropped its previous plans to replace it by Group S, and instead replaced it as the top-line formula by Group A. The short-lived Group B era has acquired legendary status among rally fans and automobile enthusiasts in general.

Contents
1 Overview
2 Group 2 and Group 4
3 Groups N, A and B
4 1983–1985
5 1986
6 Disposition
7 Group S
8 Legacy
9 Cars
9.1 Group B
9.2 Notes
9.3 Group S
10 Notable drivers
11 References
12 External links
Overview

Group B Ford RS200
Group B was introduced by the FIA in 1982 as a replacement for both Group 4 (modified grand touring) and Group 5 (touring prototypes) cars.

Group A referred to production-derived vehicles limited in terms of power, weight, allowed technology and overall cost. The base model had to be mass-produced (5000 units/year) and had to have four seats. Group A was aimed at ensuring a large number of privately owned entries in races.

By contrast, Group B had few restrictions on technology, design and the number of cars required for homologation to compete—200, less than other series. Weight was kept as low as possible, high-tech materials were permitted, and there were no restrictions on boost, resulting in the power output of the winning cars increasing from 250 hp in 1981,[2] the year before Group B rules were introduced, to there being at least two cars producing in excess of 500 by 1986, the final year of Group B.[3] In just five years, the power output of rally cars had more than doubled.

The category was aimed at car manufacturers by promising outright competition victories and the subsequent publicity opportunities without the need for an existing production model. There was also a Group C, which had a similarly lax approach to chassis and engine development, but with strict rules on overall weight and maximum fuel load.

Group B was initially a very successful group, with many manufacturers joining the premier World Rally Championship, and increased spectator numbers. But the cost of competing quickly rose and the performance of the cars proved too much resulting in a series of fatal crashes. As a consequence Group B was canceled at the end of 1986 and Group A regulations became the standard for all cars until the advent of World Rally Cars in 1997.

In the following years Group B found a niche in the European Rallycross Championship, with cars such as the MG Metro 6R4 and the Ford RS200 competing as late as 1992. For 1993, the FIA replaced the Group B models with prototypes that had to be based on existing Group A cars, but still followed the spirit of Group B, with low weight, 4WD, high turbo boost pressure and staggering amounts of power.

Group 2 and Group 4
Until 1983 the two main classes of rallying were called Group 2 and Group 4. Major manufacturers competed in Group 4, which required a minimum of 400 examples of a competition car. Notable cars of the era included the Lancia Stratos HF, the Ford Escort RS1800 and the Fiat 131 Abarth.

In 1979 the FISA (then the name of the FIA's motorsport regulatory division) legalized four-wheel drive (4WD). Car companies were not keen on using 4WD as it was generally felt that the extra weight and complexity of 4WD systems would cancel out any performance benefits.

This belief was shattered when Audi launched a competition car in 1980, the Turbocharged and 4WD Quattro. That year a Quattro was used in Portugal's Algarve Rallye. Registered by the Audi Sport Factory Rally Team, IN-NE 3, as an opening (zero) car, it was driven by professional driver Hannu Mikkola. Mikkola's co-driver was Arne Hertz. IN-NE 3's combined time for all stages on this rally was over 30 minutes quicker[4] than that of the winner. While the new car was indeed heavy and cumbersome, its standing starts on gravel and road grip on Special Stages was staggering.

The Quattro was officially entered in the 1980 Jänner-Rallye in Austria and easily won. Audi kept on winning throughout the 1980 and 1981 seasons, although lack of consistent results meant that Ford took the driver's title in 1981 with Ari Vatanen driving a rear-wheel-drive Escort. The team's victory at the 1981 Rallye Sanremo, with the car piloted by Michèle Mouton, was the first time a woman won a World Championship rally. Mouton placed second in the drivers' championship the next year, behind Opel's Walter Röhrl.

Groups N, A and B

Rothmans Rally Team's Prodrive-run Porsche 911 SC RS.
The FISA decided to separate the rally cars into three classes: Group N (production cars), Group A (modified production cars), and Group B (modified sports cars). These groups were introduced in 1982.

Group N and Group A cars were the same cars with different amounts of race preparation allowed (in Group N almost no modifications, in Group A significant modifications). The cars had to have four seats (although the minimum size of the rear seats was small enough that some 2+2 cars could qualify) and be produced in large numbers. This was 5000 cars/year between 1982 and 1991. It later changed to 2500 cars/year if the version being homologated was derived from a mass-market car (25000 cars/year for all versions).

The transverse mid-engine Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 E2 won Peugeot the 1985 and 1986 WRC manufacturers' titles.
Group B was conceived when the FISA found that numerous car manufacturers wanted to compete in rallying; witnessing the successes of the Stratos and the Quattro, manufacturers felt cars with mid-engine and RWD or 4WD were preferable, however their RWD production models had been gradually replaced by their FWD counterparts, lessening their chance of winning. By reducing the homologation minimum from 400 (in Group 4) to 200, FIA enabled manufacturers to design specialised RWD or 4WD rally cars without the financial commitment of producing their production counterparts in such large numbers.[5]

Group B cars could be two-seaters and the minimum production was 200 cars. Manufacturers were allowed to homologate an evolution each year by producing 20 cars of that evolution. The cars entered in the races were further modified (same modifications allowed as in Group A). Group B could in theory be used to homologate production sports cars, which could not be homologated in Group N or A, because they did not have four seats or were not produced in large enough numbers (e.g. cars like the Ferrari 308, the Porsche 911, etc.). The designation used in the regulations ("Sports Grand Touring Cars") shows this intention.

The major manufacturers, however, used them in a different way: they designed a rally car, of which 20 were produced and designated the evolution model, and then built a limited series of 200 street cars for homologation. (Similar things have been done before in Group 4, for instance the Lancia Stratos.) In some cases these cars were sold at a loss and journalists[who?] reviewing them now acknowledge that their development was not quite finished.

In each group there were classes based on engine displacement (with a 1.4 equivalence factor for forced induction engines). Each class had different weight limits, maximum tyre sizes, etc. The most important classes for Group B were the 3000 cc class (2142.8 cc with turbo or supercharger), 960 kg minimum weight (Audi Quattro, Lancia 037) and 2500 cc (1785 cc), 890 kg (Peugeot 205 T16, Lancia Delta S4).

Renault 5 Turbo.

Porsche 959.
The original Renault 5 Turbo had a 1.4 L engine so it was in the 2000 cc class. Renault later increased the size of the engine somewhat for the Turbo Maxi, so as to be able to fit larger tyres (at the expense of somewhat higher weight).[6] The Ferrari 288 GTO and the Porsche 959 were in the 4000 cc (2857 cc), 1100 kg class, which would have probably become the normal class for track racing if Group B had seen much use there. Otherwise they existed for old Group 4 cars which competed until 1985.

Classes in Group B:[7]

Displacement Weight Wheel width
(front & back) Cars
Naturally-aspirated Super-, turbo-charged
4000 cc 2857 cc 1100 kg 24" Ferrari 288 GTO, Porsche 959
3000 cc 2142.8 cc 960 kg 22" Audi Quattro, Lancia 037, MG Metro 6R4, Ford RS200
2500 cc 1785 cc 890 kg 22" Peugeot 205 T16, Lancia Delta S4
2000 cc 1397 cc 820 kg 20" Renault 5 Turbo
Audi was in the 3000 cc class because the displacement of the street car happened to be in that class, and as a car derived from the street version, it would have been difficult to reach the minimum weight needed. For the 037 Lancia decided that the lower class might be too light and consequently too fragile for gravel rallies, and they happened to have a good 2000 cc engine.

When these rules were decided it was felt that these displacement restrictions would be enough to control power, but in the early and mid-1980s engineers learnt how to extract extraordinary amounts of power from turbo engines (the same thing was happening in F1). Nowadays the power of turbo engines is limited by mandating a restrictor in the intake (in World Rally Car, Group A and Group N).

1983–1985

Lancia's 037.
Although the Audi Quattro was still in essence a Group 4 car, it carried Hannu Mikkola to the driver's title in 1983. Lancia had designed a new car to Group B specifications, but the Lancia 037 still had rear wheel drive and was thus less consistent than the Audi over different surfaces (generally the Lancia had the upper hand on tarmac, with the Audi remaining superior on looser surfaces such as snow and gravel). Nevertheless, the 037 performed well enough for Lancia to capture the manufacturers title, which was generally considered more prestigious at the time, with a rally to spare. In fact, so low was Lancia's regard for the Drivers Championship, they did not enter a single car into the season finale RAC Rally, despite the fact that driver Walter Röhrl was still in the hunt for the title.

Opel Manta 400.
The low homologation requirements quickly attracted manufacturers to Group B. Opel replaced their production-derived Ascona with the Group B Manta 400, and Toyota built a new car based on their Celica. Like the Lancia 037 both cars were rear wheel drive, but, while successful in national rallying in various countries, they were less so at World Championship level, although Toyota won the 1983 Ivory Coast Rally after hiring Swedish desert driving specialist, the late Björn Waldegård.

In 1984, Audi's Stig Blomqvist beat Lancia to the driver's title, although the victory was bittersweet: Midway through the year Peugeot had joined the rallying scene with its Group B 205 T16. The T16 also had four wheel drive and was smaller and lighter than the Audi Quattro. At the wheel was the 1981 driver's champion Ari Vatanen, with future Ferrari Formula One team manager and FIA President Jean Todt overseeing the operation. A crash prevented the T16 from winning its first rally but the writing was on the wall for Audi.

The Metro 6R4 was developed to compete in the 1986 WRC.
Despite massive revisions to the Quattro, including a shorter wheelbase, Peugeot dominated the 1985 season. Although not without mishap: Vatanen plunged off the road in Argentina and was seriously injured when his seat mountings broke in the ensuing crash. Timo Salonen won the 1985 champion title with five wins.

Although the crash was a sign that Group B cars had already become dangerously quick (despite Vatanen having a consistent record of crashing out while leading), several new Group B cars entered the rallying world in 1985:

Late in the year, Lancia replaced their outclassed 037 with the Delta S4, which featured both a turbocharger and a supercharger for optimum power output.
Ford returned after several years away with the Ford RS200 and the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth (though the latter went on to compete in Group A).
Citroën developed and entered the BX 4TC, which ultimately was too heavy and cumbersome to be successful.
Rover created the distinctive Metro 6R4, which featured boxy bodywork and a large spoiler mounted on the front of the car.
1986

Ford RS200.
For the 1986 season, defending champion Timo Salonen had the new Evolution 2 version of Peugeot's 205 T16 with ex Toyota driver, Juha Kankkunen. Audi's new Sport Quattro S1 boasted over 600 hp (450 kW) and a huge snowplough-like front end. Lancia's Delta S4 would be in the hands of the Finnish prodigy Henri Toivonen and Markku Alén, and Ford was ready with its high tech RS200 with Stig Blomqvist and Kalle Grundel.

On the "Lagoa Azul" stage of the Portuguese Rally near Sintra, Portuguese driver Joaquim Santos crested a rise, turning to his right to avoid a small group of spectators. This caused him to lose control of his RS200. The car veered to the right and slid off the road into the spectators. Thirty-one people were injured and three were killed. All the top teams immediately pulled out of the rally and Group B was placed in jeopardy.

Lancia Delta S4.
Disaster struck again in early May at the Tour de Corse. Lancia's Toivonen was the championship favorite, and once the rally got underway he was the pace setter. Seven kilometres into the 18th stage, Toivonen's S4 flew off the unguarded edge of a tightening left hand bend and plunged down a steep wooded hillside. The car landed inverted with the fuel tanks ruptured by the impact. The combination of red hot turbocharger, Kevlar bodywork, and ruptured fuel tank ignited the car and set fire to the dry undergrowth. Toivonen and co-driver Sergio Cresto died in their seats.[8][9][10] With no witnesses to the accident it was impossible to determine what caused the crash other than Toivonen had left the road at high speed. Some cite Toivonen's ill health at the time (he reportedly was suffering from flu);[11] others suggest mechanical failure, or simply the difficulty of driving the car, although Toivonen had a career full of crashing out while leading rallies. Up until that stage he was leading the rally by a large margin, with no other driver challenging him.[11]

The crash came a year after Lancia driver Attilio Bettega had crashed and died in his 037. While that fatality was largely blamed on the unforgiving Corsican scenery (and bad luck, as his co-driver, Maurizio Perissinot was uninjured), Toivonen and Cresto's deaths, combined with the Portugal tragedy and televised accident of F1 driver Marc Surer in another RS200 which killed co-driver Michel Wyder, compelled the FIA ban Group B cars immediately for 1987. Audi decided to quit Group B entirely after the Corsica rally.

The final days of Group B would also be controversial. The Peugeots were disqualified from the Rally Sanremo by the Italian scrutineers as the 'skirts' around the bottom of the car were deemed to be illegal. Peugeot immediately accused the Italians of favouring Lancia.[citation needed] Their case was strengthened at the next event, the RAC Rally, when the British scrutineers passed the Peugeots as legal in identical trim. FISA annulled the result of the Sanremo Rally eleven days after the final round in the United States. As a result, the championship title was passed from Lancia's Markku Alén to Peugeot's Juha Kankkunen. Timo Salonen had won another two rallies during the 1986 season and became the most successful group B era driver with a total of seven wins.

Disposition

Ari Vatanen's Dakar Rally trim 205 T16.

Three Ford RS200 E2, Audi Sport quattro S1, MG Metro 6R4 and Peugeot 205 T16 E2 in the 1989 Rallycross EC round at Melk.
Although 1987 saw the end of the Group B cars on the world stage, they did not disappear from motorsport. Peugeot adapted their T16 to run in the Dakar Rally. Ari Vatanen won the event in 1987, 1989 and 1990. Improved Peugeot and Audi cars also competed in the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in Colorado. Walter Röhrl's S1 Rally car won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 1987 and set a new record at the time. Audi used their Group B experience to develop a production based racing car for the Trans-Am and IMSA GTO series in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Ford sold off their RS200s to private buyers, with many being used in European Rallycross events from the beginning of 1987 till the end of 1992. The Metro 6R4 also became a frequent sight in Rallycross and the car was also entered in British and Irish national championship events. Porsche's 959 never entered a World Rally event, although it did compete in the Middle East championship and won the Paris-Dakar Rally. The 961 prototype won the GTX class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1986 race but crashed and caught fire in 1987. The Ferrari 288 GTO was built and sold the minimum requirement of cars to the public, however it never saw action in its category. The WSPC grids it was intended for was filled up by a batch of Group C cars (there would be no production sports car-based racers in European racing, including Le Mans, until 1993), but it saw limited use in an IMSA GTO race in 1989.

Group S

The Lancia ECV for Group S pictured at Legendy 2014.
As well as the cancellation of Group B, the tragedies of 1986 also brought about the scrapping of Group B's proposed replacement: Group S.

Group S rules would have limited car engine power to 300 hp (225 kW). To encourage innovative designs, ten examples of a car would have been required for homologation, rather than the 200 required for Group B. By the time of its cancellation, at least four Group S prototypes had been built: The Lancia ECV, the Toyota MR2-based 222D, the Opel Kadett Rallye 4x4 (a.k.a. Vauxhall Astra 4S) and the Lada Samara S-proto, and new cars were also planned by both Audi (the 002 Quattro) and Ford (a Group S development of the RS200). The cancellation of Group S angered many rally insiders who considered the new specification to be safer than Group B and more exciting than Group A.

The Group S concept was revived by the FIA in 1997 as the World Rally Car specification which, as of 2021, is still in use. WRC cars are limited to 380 hp (280 kW) and require 20 examples of a model but, unlike Group S, are required to share certain parts with production cars.

Legacy

1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1
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The era of Group B is often considered one of the most competitive and compelling periods in rallying.[12] The combination of lightweight chassis, sophisticated aerodynamics and massive amounts of horsepower resulted in the development of a class of cars whose performance has not yet been surpassed within their category, even three decades later.[13] In reference to their dubious safety record, however, the class has also earned an unsavory nickname among enthusiasts: "Killer B's".[13] In contrast to this, many enthusiasts refer the Group B era as the Golden Age of Rallying.[14][15][16][17]

The 2017 video game Gran Turismo Sport features a rally car category known as "Gr. B", an obvious homage to Group B. This particular category features predominantly fictional rally cars based on newer models, such as Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X and Subaru WRX STI, although it does includes the Pikes Peak version of the Audi Quattro.[18]

Cars
Group B

Lada VFTS

Mazda RX-7.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (May 2020)
This list includes cars that were issued with Group B homologation certificate, but were never built as a Group B racer.

Indicates pure-Group B cars, cars specifically designed to compete in the class
Indicates semi-homologated cars, cars that was an evolution of existing production model especially to pass homologations
Indicates those who used mainstream high-volume models for homologation
Indicates transferred from Group 4 homologation
Indicates Group A cars that have been retroactively been given Group B homologation for failing to meet homologation guidelines
Indicates cars that was rehomologated as a Group A car.
Indicates cars which received post-ban homologation, effective from 1 January 1987
Indicates cars that never received homologation, therefore was extant as a prototype
Car Class Homologation n° Date of homologation Note Source
Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 Turbodelta B/12 B-238 1 March 1983 [19]
Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint 6C Prototype
Alfa Romeo SZ B/12 B-297 1 November 1992 [20]
Alpine A310 V6 B/12 B-204 1 February 1982 [21]
Alpine A610 B/12 B-299 1 April 1993 [22]
Audi Quattro A1 [nl] B/12 B-229 1 January 1983 [23]
Audi 80 Quattro A2 B/12 B-231 1 January 1983 [nb 1] [23]
Audi Quattro A1 [nl] B/12 B-242 1 May 1983 [nb 2] [23]
Audi Quattro A2 [nl] B/12 B-243 1 May 1983 [23]
Audi Sport Quattro S1 [de] B/12 B-243 1 May 1984 [23]
Audi Sport Quattro E2 [nl] B/12 B-264 1 July 1985 [24]
BMW M1 B/12 B-240 1 March 1983 [25]
Citroën BX 4TC [fr] B/12 B-279 1 October 1986 [26]
Citroën Visa Trophée B/9 B-201 1 January 1982 [26]
Citroën Visa Chrono II B/10 B-219 1 October 1982 [26]
Citroën Visa 1000 Pistes B/10 B-258 1 March 1984 [26]
Daihatsu Charade 926 Turbo B/9 B-268 1 January 1985 [27]
Daihatsu Charade DeTomaso 926R Under 1300cc Prototype [27]
Ferrari 308 GTB Michelotto B/12 B-220 1 October 1982 [28]
Ferrari 308 GTB Michelotto B/12 B-236 1 January 1983 [28]
Ferrari 308 Quattrovalvole B/12 B-241 1 April 1983 [28]
Ferrari 288 GTO B/12 B-273 1 June 1985 [28]
Ferrari 288 GTO Evoluzione Prototype [nb 3] [28]
Ferrari F40 B/12 B-293 1 December 1989 [20]
Ford RS200 B/12 B-280 1 February 1986 [29]
Ford Escort RS 1700T Prototype [nb 4] [29]
Ford Escort RS Turbo B/12 B-270 1 April 1985 [nb 5]
Ford Sierra RS Cosworth B/12 B-286 1 August 1986 [nb 6]
FSO Polonez 2500 Racing Prototype 1 April 1985
FSO Polonez 2000 Rally B/11 B-261 1 April 1984
FSO Polonez 2000 Turbo Under 2000cc Prototype
Giocattolo Group B Prototype
Jaguar XJS B/12 B-292 1 February 1988 [30]
Lada 2105 VFTS [nl] B/10 B-222 1 October 1982 [31]
Lada Samara EVA Prototype [31]
Lamborghini Countach 5000QV B/12 B-291 1 January 1988 [32]
Lancia Rally 037 B/12 B-210 1 April 1982 [33]
Lancia Delta S4 B/12 B-276 1 November 1985 [33]
Mazda RX-7 B/12 B-255 1 February 1984 [34]
Mercedes-Benz 190E Cosworth Prototype [nb 7] [35]
MG Metro 6R4 [fr] B/12 B-277 1 November 1985 [36]
Mitsubishi Lancer 2000 Turbo B/12 B-230 1 January 1983 [37]
Mitsubishi Starion 4WD Prototype [nb 8]
Moskvitch-Aleko 2141-KR Prototype [38]
Nissan 240RS [ja] B/12 B-233 1 January 1983 [39]
Opel Ascona 400 [it] B/12 B-221 1 November 1982
Opel Manta 400 B/12 B-237 1 March 1983 [40]
Peugeot 205 T16 [fr] B/12 B-262 1 April 1984 [41]
Peugeot 305 V6 Prototype [nb 9]
Peugeot 504 Turbo Injection B/12 B-252 1 November 1983
Peugeot 504 Pickup B/11 B-228 1 December 1982 [41]
Porsche 924 Carrera GT B/12 B-203 1 January 1982 [42]
Porsche 911 SC RS B/12 B-207 1 March 1982 [42]
Porsche 911 Turbo B/12 B-208 1 January 1982 [42]
Porsche 928S B/12 B-209 1 January 1982 [42]
Porsche 911 Carrera B/12 B-282 1 June 1986 [42]
Porsche 911 Carrera 2 B/12 B-294 1 September 1990 [43]
Porsche 911 Carrera 4 B/12 B-295 1 September 1990 [44]
Porsche 911 Carrera RS B/12 B-296 1 March 1992 [45]
Porsche 911 Turbo B/12 B-298 1 April 1993 [46]
Porsche 928S B/12 B-283 1 June 1986 [42]
Porsche 944 Turbo B/12 B-284 1 June 1986 [42]
Porsche 959 Prototype [42]
Porsche 961 Prototype
Premier 118NE B/9 B-290 1 November 1988 [47]
Renault 5 Turbo "Cévennes" B/11 B-205 1 February 1982 [48]
Renault 5 Turbo "Tour de Corse" B/11 B-234 1 January 1983
Renault 5 Maxi Turbo B/12 B-267 1 December 1984
Seat Fura Crono 1.6 B/10 B-244 1 May 1983
Škoda 130 LR B/9 B-269 1 January 1985 [49]
Subaru MP-1 Utility B/11 B-259 1 March 1984 [50]
Subaru XT 4WD Turbo B/12 B-275 1 October 1985 [51]
Talbot Sunbeam Lotus B/12 B-227 1 December 1982 [52]
Talbot Horizon Prototype [nb 2] [52]
Talbot Samba Rallye [fr] B/9 B-232 1 January 1983 [52]
Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo [it] B/12 B-239 1 March 1983 [53]
Notes
Re-homologated as Group A, homologation number 5156
2145cc engine upgrade
Car built to Group B regulations but not homologated; project abandoned in favor of F40
Car built to Group B regulations but not homologated; project abandoned in favor of RS200
Re-homologated as Group A, homologation number 5272
Re-homologated as Group A, homologation number 5323
Abandoned once the Audi Quattro became known.
Not homologated in time before Group B ended, ran as prototype
Car built to Group B regulations but not homologated; project abandoned in favor of 205 T16
Group S

Opel's Kadett Rallye 4x4 was later used by Briton John Welch for Rallycross.

Michèle Mouton and her Quattro in 2007.
Audi Sport Quattro RS 002[23]
Ford RS200
Lada Samara S-proto
Lancia ECV
Mazda RX7S[54]
Opel Kadett Rallye 4x4/Vauxhall Astra 4S
Peugeot 405 T16 GR
SEAT Ibiza Bimotor[55]
Škoda 130LR Evolution
Toyota 222D (based upon MR2)
Notable drivers
Finland Markku Alén
Italy Attilio Bettega
Italy Miki Biasion
Sweden Stig Blomqvist
Poland Marian Bublewicz
United States John Buffum
Finland Juha Kankkunen
Kenya Shekhar Mehta
Finland Hannu Mikkola
France Michèle Mouton
United Kingdom Tony Pond
France Jean Ragnotti
Argentina Jorge Recalde
Germany Walter Röhrl
Finland Timo Salonen
Finland Henri Toivonen
Finland Ari Vatanen
Sweden Björn Waldegård
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Opel Archived 15 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Group B Rally (1 May 1983). Retrieved 2 May 2012.
Peugeot Archived 15 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Group B Rally (4 January 1984). Retrieved 2 May 2012.
Porsche Archived 21 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Group B Rally. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
http://historicdb.fia.com/car/porsche-911-carrera-2
http://historicdb.fia.com/car/porsche-911-carrera-4
http://historicdb.fia.com/car/porsche-911-carrera-rs
http://historicdb.fia.com/car/porsche-911-turbo-2-3299
http://historicdb.fia.com/car/premier-118-ne
https://rallygroupbshrine.org/the-group-b-cars/rally-cars/renault-5-turbo/
Skoda Archived 7 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Group B Rally. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
https://rallygroupbshrine.org/the-group-b-cars/rally-cars/subaru-mp-1-utility/
"TECHNICAL REGULATIONS FOR CARS COMPETING IN INTERNATIONAL HISTORIC EVENTS" (PDF). Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 July 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
Talbot Archived 6 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Group B Rally. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
Toyota Archived 7 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Group B Rally. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
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"Seat Ibiza Bimotor – Group S Prototype". Rally Group B Shrine. 16 January 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2020.

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Forza Horizon 3
Forza horizon 3 cover art.jpg
Standard edition cover art featuring a Lamborghini Centenario and an airborne 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor Race Truck
Developer(s) Playground Games[b]
Publisher(s) Microsoft Studios
Director(s) Ralph Fulton
Producer(s) Adam Askew
Designer(s) Martin Conner
Programmer(s) Alan Roberts
Artist(s) Benjamin Penrose
Series Forza
Platform(s)
Microsoft Windows
Xbox One
Release 27 September 2016[a]
Genre(s) Racing
Mode(s) Single-player, Multiplayer
Forza Horizon 3 is a 2016 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. The game features cross-platform play between the two platforms. The game was released on 23 September 2016 for Ultimate Edition players, and 27 September 2016 for standard and Deluxe Edition players. It is the third Forza Horizon and the ninth instalment in the Forza series. As with previous Horizon games, Turn 10 Studios assisted Playground Games in the game's development. It is set in a fictional representation of Australia. The game makes use of Turn 10 Studios Drivatar technology from previous Xbox One Forza games and features a four player co-operative multiplayer campaign and cross-platform play, as it is a part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program. Additional content has been released in the form of updates, car packs and two world expansions, which also include additional cars.

The game received universal acclaim from critics upon release. On review aggregator site Metacritic, the Xbox One version holds an average critic score of 91/100, based on 91 reviews, making it the second highest-rated Forza Horizon title to date, only behind its direct sequel, Forza Horizon 4, which was released in 2018. The Windows version holds a score of 86/100, based on 12 critics.

Contents
1 Gameplay
2 Development
2.1 Setting
2.2 General design and technology
2.3 Gameplay design
3 Release
3.1 Downloadable content
4 Reception
4.1 Awards and nominations
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links
Gameplay

Forza Horizon 3 allows players to race in a fictional representation of Australia. Here, the player drives a BMW M4 to a destination.
See also: Gameplay in Forza Horizon and Gameplay in Forza Horizon 2
Forza Horizon 3 is a racing video game set in an open world environment based in a fictional representation of Australia.[2] The gameplay world is about twice the size of its predecessor, Forza Horizon 2,[3] and the game contains locales and regions based upon their real-life Australian counterparts.[4][5] While previous Horizon games have depicted the player as being one of the racers of the Horizon Festival, the player is now the director of the festival, and their role is to expand it throughout Australia by completing races, challenges, and stunts to earn fans.[3][6] By expanding the festival, the player can unlock new areas, challenges, events, and racing courses.[7]

Three types of racing modes are available in the game: Exhibition, Championship, and Rivals. Exhibition is a single race at one location, whereas Championship contains multiple races dispersed throughout the gameplay world. Rivals is a versus race against the player and an AI opponent, where the player has to compete in a time trial to beat the time set by the opponent.[8] Added in Forza Horizon 2, players can also participate in Bucket List Challenges. During Bucket List Challenges, the player is given a task to complete with a specific vehicle such as reaching a certain speed limit, for example.[9] The newly introduced Horizon Blueprint feature allows players to customise races and Bucket List Challenges.[3]

Apart from races and Bucket List Challenges, the player can engage in numerous other activities. Breakable boards called "bonus boards" can be discovered around the gameplay world; when driven over, they award the player with experience points or a discount on fast travelling.[9][10] As players progress through the game, they will receive notifications informing them of barn find rumours; when found, the in-game mechanic will restore the barn find for the player to use.[11] When performing driving stunts with a vehicle, the player is awarded "skill points"; if enough skill points are acquired, they can be used to purchase certain perks.[12]

Returning from previous Forza games, Horizon 3 features an implemented driving AI called Drivatars, which learns and mimics the driving abilities of Forza players.[13] Drivatars are found throughout the gameplay world,[14] and they appear in races as opponents, where they can be adjusted by game difficulty via the player.[9] Apart from standard races, Drivatars can be challenged to a head-to-head race. If the player wins the race, they will be able to recruit that Drivatar onto their racing team,[14] which allows the player to earn additional experience points, fans, and in-game currency.[6] The player can also recruit Drivatars in a car convoy. When in a car convoy, Drivatars will follow the player, and they can be upgraded by skill points to perform certain tasks throughout the game.[15]

The player can upgrade and tune individual parts of their vehicles, with body kits for vehicles being available to the player as well.[16][17] Additionally, Horizon 3 includes a vehicle cutsomisation option called "Upgrade Heroes," which utilizes both tuning and body kits to alter both a vehicle's performance and appearance, though the cutomisation preset is limited to a certain number of vehicles.[18] The colour of vehicles and its collective parts can changed, with the player further being able to design liveries for vehicles.[16] These liveries can be sold through the game's transactional system, which also includes an auction system to bid on cars from other players.[3][19] A total of 350 vehicles were available at the game's launch.[3]

Horizon 3 offers a co-operative campaign for up the four players and supports cross-platform compatibility.[15][20] The game also includes a multiplayer open world mode supporting up to 12 players.[16] In multiplayer, players can compete in standard races, though they also have the option to play various kinds of minigames with their vehicles.[6][15] As from previous Forza games, players can join clubs, where they have the ability to compete against players of other clubs in races and minigames.[15]

Development
Forza Horizon 3 was developed by UK-based Playground Games, the developers behind previous Horizon titles. Additional work was provided by Turn 10 Studios.[1] The game was designed using the ForzaTech game engine, which is used to develop most other Forza games.[21] The development team started conceptualizing about the creation of Horizon 3 in 2014 initially after Forza Horizon 2 was released.[22] The team desired to give players more freedom in Horizon 3, which wasn't as prominent in the previous game of the series.[23] The team also aimed for Horizon 3 to be of better quality, therefore they sought to improve and reiterate many aspects of the game over the previous title.[22] This caused Playground Games to minimize the amount of loading screen time in Horizon 3, as it could damage the game's impression of being persistently high quality.[24] Creative director Ralph Fulton felt that Horizon 3 was a "generational leap" over the Horizon 2 because of the work the development team put in to better improve the game.[22]

Setting

Clockwise from top left: Surfers Paradise, the Outback, The 12 Apostles, Yarra Valley. Australia's diverse scenery was one of the main reasons Playground Games selected the country as the setting of Forza Horizon 3.
Playground Games initially started with a broad range of locations for Horizon 3, with the list of locations narrowing with more research.[22] Because of Australia's largely diverse environment, the development team ultimately made the decision to have Horizon 3 set there, as they also considered the country to be a possible setting for future Horizon games.[22][25] Mike Brown, a game designer at Playground Games, thinks that the team made the correct decision to select Australia as the setting, describing the potential of the setting as "perfect".[25]

To help create a convincing gameplay world, a team was sent to Australia to take thousands of photos for reference to help import into the game, with these photos consisting of plants, rocks, and road details, among many others.[26][25] Playground Games stated that they explored and represented every ecologically distinct part of the country in Horizon 3,[27] with the gameplay world consisting of six distinct regions, alongside more effort being put into simulating iconic areas of the country, such as The Twelve Apostles.[25] Fairly obscure details were also implemented into the game, such as the colours of Australian phone boxes and garbage bins, as well as native wildlife also being included.[28][25] The gameplay world, however, is somewhat geographically inaccurate, with locations in real life existing in different geographic areas in the game.[29] According to Brown, the explanation for this inconsistency was to create a better gameplay experience for the player.[25]

Ralph Fulton, speaking in an interview with MCV/Develop, explained that Playground Games desired to help celebrate Australian car culture and familiarize the culture to people in other parts of the world, thus multiple Australian car models were incorporated into the game, with Fulton adding, "[Australia's] culture of Ford vs Holden, and V8s and Utes isn’t immediately familiar to everybody north of the equator, but we did feel it was really interesting and colourful and would add to the game."[22]

General design and technology
After the success of the recreation of Cote d’Azur and Northern Italy in Horizon 2, the development team talked about and tested new technology prototypes for several months to help enhance the visual scenery for the project. Among these prototypes was an HDR sky system.[22] As an idea, the team thought of pointing a high resolution camera at the sky for hours as a time-lapse. A test was then conducted in Leamington Spa, England. Lighting artist Jamie Wood admitted that during the test, there was more variety in shooting a camera at a sky than the sky design system that was used in Horizon 2. With Playground Games taking these aspects in consideration, three teams of two were sent to Braidwood, New South Wales to capture Australia's more specific skies, clouds, and sun rays. From October 2015 to the summer in the southern hemisphere, the teams performed the shooting process using HDR cameras. The cameras took thousands of photos with frame interpolation over 24 hour periods, alongside the lenses and light sensors needing to be cleaned regularly. Videos of the sky were also taken, with the footage being about 30 days long overall.[30] The shooting process took place through various weather conditions and times of day to resemble a "dynamic weather system" in the game. This further meant that camera exposures and filters had to be changed frequently to adjust to each time of day. The footage of the sky was then imported into the game.[26] Because of the sky footage, days were longer in Horizon 3 than its predecessor, and clouds also correlate with weather systems in-game.[30]

The lighting effects (including light direction and length) in Horizon 3 are calculated with real-time computing, which helps simulate a realistic sun in the game. This aids in generating shadows situated on how light is distributed and occluded based on surrounding objects and substances. The game also uses a voxel-based global illumination system to calculate the bouncing of light, which is also used with real-time computing. The sky, other sources of light, and occlusion data is used to assist in which surfaces light bounces onto. This helps light accurately blend into darker areas of the game.[30]

High-dynamic-range rendering (HDR), played a key role in the visuals of Horizon 3. Originally, there wasn't any thought of incorporating HDR while developing the game, but due to the development team discovering the HDR output of the Xbox One S, it was decided to start programming the feature. "ForzaTech", the video game engine used for Forza games,[31] was found to be a perfect match for HDR, as the light rendering of the game engine was perfectly set up the incorporate the brightness gamut of HDR. To help investigate the feature, multiple televisions that supported HDR were bought. The development team later discovered that the televisions displayed HDR variously, which added much more intricacy to the process of developing the feature.[22]

Car models were mainly developed with the help of CAD data exchange with the car manufacturer, but for cars that didn't support CAD data exchange, designers had to use more expertise in order to simulate them more accurately. Another issue was trying to track down cars for modelling details, especially rarer and older cars, with it sometimes taking upwards of weeks to locate some of them.[22][30] As with the Lamborghini Centenario, the cover car of the game,[32] a photographer was sent to Italy to take thousands of photos and measurements of the car. Using help from the images and measurements, a mesh of the car was modelled with Autodesk 3ds Max. As the car also consisted of 620 different types of materials, Playground Games desired to simulate all the materials to the "sub-pixel level", with designers of the game's Centenario having to figure out which materials had to be placed in areas of the car.[30]

The beach and sea was found to be an important racing area for the development team, therefore much effort was put into allowing the sea to realistically interact with the beach. To help assist in developing the sea, Playground Games contacted game developer Rare, who was working on Sea of Thieves at the time. As both developers were working on creating the sea in their games, they decided to share computer code, of which both developers improved and reiterated on.[30]

Gameplay design
While in a conference hosted by GamesIndustry.biz, Ralph Fulton explained in a presentation that "humans form their first impressions incredibly quickly", elaborating that people form their opinions on someone within the first three seconds. He acknowledged that first impressions can change the way someone recognizes a game, with Playground Games conducting a study of first impressions before developing Horizon 3. Two groups of test subjects both played the same Forza game for the same amount of time, but one group played in a sports car and the other played in a regular car. When asked about their experiences playing the game, the group that played in the sports car rated the game higher in multiple categories. As a result of such observations, Playground Games spent a large part of their development cycle (about eighteen months) developing and curating the first few scenes of the game. In February 2015, it was decided that the first few scenes would be split between the opening drive and the first of the game's events, with the decided route for the opening drive being finalized a month later. By June 2015, the decided route was being tested and concept art was drawn for the scenery that the player would see during the opening drive, although some concepts had to be adjusted or removed such as the rainforest in the game being made less dense. Problems also emerged with the car that the player would be driving in during the opening sequence, the Lamborghini Centenario. The Centenario resulted in being too fast for the player to observe the scenery as intended, requiring changes in the route and terrain. As the opening drive also went off-road, a cutscene had to be instituted to switch the Centenario with a buggy to accompany the rougher land. Additionally, the first event after the opening drive had to be pushed back for further improvement, prompting modifications to be made to the opponent vehicle.[24]

During the development process of the four-player cooperative campaign, the goal of the project was to enable all players to play with "as little friction as possible". This made the development team generate a list of goals for an organized campaign. The team then developed a list of issues that influenced the campaign when assessing their project design. The major issues mainly were:

Players could be hours apart in campaign progress
As races could have specific requirements for cars based on the restrictions the session leader has set, players with fewer cars may not reach those car specifications
Players with lower skill levels may finish races in lower positions
Although players are able to play without any sort of communication between each other, the one player leading the game session has to also guide players throughout the game
With each issue, the team brainstormed a list of possible solutions, picking the solution that produced the least conflict between players. For the first issue, a screen appears that informs the player of how many fans they earned and festivals they can upgrade or open whenever they leave a cooperative session. If players also completed races in a cooperative session that have not yet been unlocked in their single-player session, the race will appear as "completed" on the UI in single-player. The second issue was considered more straightforward, which introduced a rental feature that allowed players to borrow the session leader's car during a race. For the third issue, every race was converted into a team race between the players and the AI opponents. A point system was then added for every opponent beaten. This created a structure that allowed inexperienced players contribute to the campaign even if they beat only one opponent. Although the fourth issue wasn't part of the team's original goals, it did come up often during testing phases. To resolve the problem, a feature was implemented that notified the session leader's actions to all other players whenever the leader did something, such as starting an event.[7]

Release

The 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS was featured in a Porsche downloadable car pack.
Forza Horizon 3 was announced on 13 June 2016 during Microsoft's E3 Xbox briefing.[2] The game was released on 27 September 2016.[20] Owners of the Ultimate Edition version of the game received access on 23 September, along with six downloadable content car packs, and access to exclusive cars and events.[33] The game also made use of Groove Music to play custom soundtracks, although the feature became limited to music and playlists uploaded to their OneDrive cloud storage only after 31 December 2017 when Microsoft discontinued the Groove Music Pass. The OneDrive music streaming feature in the game was later disabled on 31 March 2019,[34][35] effectively limiting players to the in-game soundtrack as with the other Forza Horizon games. Vehicles manufactured by Volkswagen were absent from the game due to licensing issues.[36] Forza Horizon 3 and all its downloadable content was removed from the Microsoft Store after reaching its end-of-life status on 27 September 2020.[37]

Downloadable content
Several downloadable content car packs were released. While most packs featured a small collection of cars, some packs were themed, such as the Motorsport All-Stars Car Pack. This pack included several race versions of popular sport and super cars, such as the Dodge Viper GTS-R, Nissan GT-R and Chevrolet Corvette C7. One pack was manufacturer specific, the Porsche Car Pack. This pack features the 2016 Porsche 911 GT3 RS and two other 911 variants from various years, a 1955 Porsche 550, a 1960 Porsche 718, a 2016 Porsche Cayman and a 2017 Porsche Panamera. Additionally if all expansions are purchased players can unlock an event to trigger an additional Porsche barn find. Another car pack featured real life modified cars used by the Hoonigan brand, including a third generation Mazda RX-7 drift car, Ken Block’s Ford Mustang ‘Hoonicorn’, and a Chevrolet K5 Blazer owned by BJ Baldwin, among other cars.

On 13 December 2016, the expansion Blizzard Mountain was released. Players who purchased the Expansion Pass received the Blizzard Mountain DLC, alongside the Hot Wheels expansion. Blizzard Mountain allows players to experience snow conditions both at the foot of and up to the peak of the titular mountain. Weather changes during play, ranging from clear skies to near whiteout conditions. The expansion comes with nine new DLC cars, including a barn find. Players can also buy the pack separately through the Microsoft Store, alongside the Expansion Pass as well.

On 9 May 2017, Turn 10 and Playground Games released an expansion pack, in collaboration with Mattel's Hot Wheels, named Forza Horizon 3 Hot Wheels,[38] which includes a new area located off the coast of Australia that is constructed with real-world scale Hot Wheels stunt track pieces. Included are ten brand new DLC cars, including a barn find. Several iconic cars from the Hot Wheels franchise are included, including the Twin Mill, while manufacturer speciality cars such as the 2010 Pagani Zonda R, the 2016 Jeep Trailcat, a Chrysler Hemi Hellcat powered Jeep Trailcat (a customised Jeep Wrangler) and the 2007 Toyota Hilux featured on Top Gear's North Pole special.[38] Players who purchase the Expansion Pass can access this expansion pack for no additional cost.

On 1 August 2017, Forza Horizon 3 players received the fictitious Quartz Regalia from Final Fantasy XV through the in-game message system, while Final Fantasy XV players received an Xbox Live message with a code to redeem the car.[39] It was free DLC for those who've played either game on Xbox One or Forza Horizon 3 on Windows prior to that date.[39] According to Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata, Forza Horizon 2 was used as a reference for the road trip aspects of the Final Fantasy game, which lead to Square Enix's partnering with Turn 10 to bring the fictional car to Horizon 3.[40]

Reception
Reception
Aggregate score
Aggregator Score
Metacritic 91/100 (XONE)[41]
86/100 (PC)[42]
Review scores
Publication Score
Destructoid 9/10[10]
GameRevolution 4/5 stars[6]
GameSpot 9/10[5]
GamesRadar+ 4/5 stars[43]
IGN 9.5/10[44]
PC Gamer (US) 92/100[9]
Polygon 8.5/10[1]
Forza Horizon 3 received "universal acclaim" from critics for the Xbox One version, while the PC version of the game received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[41][42] Until the release of Forza Horizon 4, it was the most-acclaimed Forza Horizon title to date and the only Xbox One console exclusive to have a Metascore higher than 90.[45][46] It was the seventh top selling game in Australia in 2016.[47] More than 2.5 million copies of the game were sold.[48]

Brett Makedonski from Destructoid gave the game a 9/10 citing that "It's a good dynamic, one that has worked expertly for three games."[10]

Nick Tan from Game Revolution gave the game 4 out of 5 stars saying that "You'll want to bend and curve around every corner in picturesque Australia landscape at least once, even if that's the only time."[6]

Miguel Concepcion from GameSpot also gave the game a 9/10 saying that "Turn 10 and Playground Games affirm the series' status as the driving game for everyone. The new emphasis on off-road options isn't at the expense of traditional races, thanks to the sheer volume of activities."[5]

Justin Towell from GamesRadar also gave the game 4 out of 5 stars citing that it "You won't need to think much while you play it, but if you're talking about places to just cut loose and enjoy the breathtaking scenery, Australia is a fine place to do it."[43]

Luke Reilly for IGN gave the game a 9.5/10 saying it "never loses sight of the fact that tearing through postcard-perfect locations should be fun, and it puts the tools in our hands to keep it that way, always. This is the racing game I've been waiting for, and it's officially my favourite thing on four wheels. A fair dinkum triumph, mates."[44]

Colin Campbell from Polygon gave the game an 8.5/10 saying that "Through a superbly realized version of Australia as well as a wide variety of terrain, cars and challenges, this free-roaming car simulation offers a valuable playbox. But it also managed to muster "cor blimey" moments that made me feel a whooping rush of speed and liberation."[1]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2016 Guild of Music Supervisors Awards Best Music Supervision In A Video Game Nominated [49]
The Game Awards Best Sports/Racing Won [50][51]
2017 British Academy Games Awards British Game Nominated [52]
Multiplayer Nominated [53]
Notes
The Ultimate Edition for the game was released in 23 September 2016, while the standard and deluxe editions were released in 27 September.
Additional work was provided by Turn 10 Studios.[1]
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External links
Forza Horizon 3
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker
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KC-135 Stratotanker
F-15C Eagle from the 67th Fighter Squadron at Kadena AB is refueled by a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 909th Air Refueling Squadron .jpg
A KC-135R refuels an F-15 Eagle
Role Aerial refuelling and transport aircraft
National origin United States
Manufacturer Boeing
First flight 31 August 1956
Introduction June 1957
Status In service
Primary users United States Air Force
French Air Force
Turkish Air Force
Singapore Air Force
Produced 1955–1965
Number built 803
Developed from Boeing 367-80
Variants Boeing NC-135
The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is a military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transport aircraft. The KC-135 was the US Air Force's first jet-powered refueling tanker and replaced the KC-97 Stratofreighter. The KC-135 was initially tasked with refueling strategic bombers, but it was used extensively in the Vietnam War and later conflicts such as Operation Desert Storm to extend the range and endurance of US tactical fighters and bombers.

The KC-135 entered service with the United States Air Force (USAF) in 1957; it is one of six military fixed-wing aircraft with over 50 years of continuous service[1] with its original operator. The KC-135 is supplemented by the larger KC-10. Studies have concluded that many of the aircraft could be flown until 2030, although maintenance costs have greatly increased. The KC-135 is to be partially replaced by the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus.

Contents
1 Development
1.1 Background
1.2 Engine retrofits
1.3 Avionics upgrades
1.4 Further upgrades and derivatives
2 Design
3 Operational history
3.1 Introduction into service
3.2 Research usage
3.3 Replacing the KC-135
4 Variants
5 Operators
5.1 Former operators
6 Accidents
7 Aircraft on display
8 Specifications (KC-135R)
9 See also
10 References
11 Bibliography
12 External links
Development

A Cold War-era image of B-52D refueling from a KC-135A. Both aircraft shown were operated by the Strategic Air Command.
Background
Like its sibling, the commercial Boeing 707 jet airliner, the KC-135 was derived from the Boeing 367-80 jet transport "proof of concept" demonstrator, which was commonly called the "Dash-80". The KC-135 is similar in appearance to the 707, but has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. The KC-135 predates the 707, and is structurally quite different from the civilian airliner. Boeing gave the future KC-135 tanker the initial designation Model 717.[2]

In 1954 USAF's Strategic Air Command (SAC) held a competition for a jet-powered aerial refueling tanker. Lockheed's tanker version of the proposed Lockheed L-193 airliner with rear fuselage-mounted engines was declared the winner in 1955.[3] Since Boeing's proposal was already flying, the KC-135 could be delivered two years earlier and Air Force Secretary Harold E. Talbott ordered 250 KC-135 tankers until Lockheed's design could be manufactured. In the end, orders for the Lockheed tanker were dropped rather than supporting two tanker designs. Lockheed never produced its jet airliner, while Boeing would eventually dominate the market with a family of airliners based on the 707.[4][5]

In 1954, the Air Force placed an initial order for 29 KC-135As, the first of an eventual 820 of all variants of the basic C-135 family. The first aircraft flew in August 1956 and the initial production Stratotanker was delivered to Castle Air Force Base, California, in June 1957. The last KC-135 was delivered to the Air Force in 1965.

USAF KC-135R boom operator view from boom pod
Developed in the early 1950s, the basic airframe is characterized by 35-degree aft swept wings and tail, four underwing-mounted engine pods, a horizontal stabilizer mounted on the fuselage near the bottom of the vertical stabilizer with positive dihedral on the two horizontal planes and a hi-frequency radio antenna which protrudes forward from the top of the vertical fin or stabilizer. These basic features make it strongly resemble the commercial Boeing 707 and 720 aircraft, although it is actually a different aircraft.

Reconnaissance and command post variants of the aircraft, including the RC-135 Rivet Joint and EC-135 Looking Glass aircraft were operated by SAC from 1963 through 1992, when they were reassigned to the Air Combat Command (ACC). The USAF EC-135 Looking Glass was subsequently replaced in its role by the U.S. Navy E-6 Mercury aircraft, a new build airframe based on the Boeing 707-320B.

Engine retrofits
All KC-135s were originally equipped with Pratt & Whitney J57-P-59W turbojet engines, which produced 10,000 lbf (44 kN) of thrust dry, and approximately 13,000 lbf (58 kN) of thrust wet. Wet thrust is achieved through the use of water injection on takeoff, as opposed to "wet thrust" when used to describe an afterburning engine. 670 US gallons (2,500 L) of water are injected into the engines over the course of three minutes. The water is injected into the inlet and the diffuser case in front of the combustion case. The water cools the air in the engine to increase its density; it also reduces the turbine gas temperature, which is a primary limitation on many jet engines. This allows the use of more fuel for proper combustion and creates more thrust for short periods of time, similar in concept to "War Emergency Power" in a piston-engined aircraft.

The front of several gray aircraft are centered in the image.
A nose-on view of several reworked KC-135R aircraft taxiing prior to takeoff. The new engines are CFM56-2 high-bypass turbofans.
In the 1980s the first modification program retrofitted 157 Air Force Reserve (AFRES) and Air National Guard (ANG) tankers with the Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-102 turbofan engines from 707 airliners retired in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The modified tanker, designated the KC-135E, was 14% more fuel-efficient than the KC-135A and could offload 20% more fuel on long-duration flights. Only the KC-135E aircraft were equipped with thrust reversers for aborted takeoffs and shorter landing roll-outs. The KC-135E fleet has since either been retrofitted as the R-model configuration or placed into long-term storage ("XJ"), as Congress has prevented the Air Force from formally retiring them. The final KC-135E, tail number 56-3630, was delivered by the 101st Air Refueling Wing to the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in September 2009.[6]

Flight deck of KC-135R; instrument panel has been modified under the Pacer-CRAG program
The second modification program retrofitted 500 aircraft with new CFM International CFM56 (military designation: F108) high-bypass turbofan engines produced by General Electric and Safran. The CFM56 engine produces approximately 22,500 lbf (100 kN) of thrust, nearly a 100% increase compared to the original J57 engine. The modified tanker, designated KC-135R (modified KC-135A or E) or KC-135T (modified KC-135Q), can offload up to 50% more fuel (on a long-duration sortie), is 25% more fuel-efficient, and costs 25% less to operate than with the previous engines. It is also significantly quieter than the KC-135A, with noise levels at takeoff reduced from 126 to 99 decibels.[7][8]

The KC-135R's operational range is 60% greater than the KC-135E for comparable fuel offloads, providing a wider range of basing options.[9]

Upgrading the remaining KC-135Es into KC-135Rs is no longer in consideration; this would have cost approximately US$3 billion, $24 million per aircraft.[9] According to Air Force data, the KC-135 fleet had a total operation and support cost in fiscal year 2001 of about $2.2 billion. The older E model aircraft averaged total costs of about $4.6 million per aircraft, while the R models averaged about $3.7 million per aircraft. Those costs include personnel, fuel, maintenance, modifications, and spare parts.[10]

Avionics upgrades

Block 45 glass cockpit
In order to expand the KC-135's capabilities and improve its reliability, the aircraft has undergone a number of avionics upgrades. Among these was the Pacer-CRAG program (compass, radar and GPS) which ran from 1999 to 2002 and modified all the aircraft in the inventory to eliminate the Navigator position from the flight crew. The fuel management system was also replaced. The program development was done by Rockwell Collins in Iowa[11] and installation was performed by BAE Systems at the Mojave Airport in California.[12] Block 40.6 allows the KC-135 to comply with global air-traffic management. The latest block upgrade to the KC-135, the Block 45 program, is online with the first 45 upgraded aircraft delivered by January 2017. Block 45 adds a new glass cockpit digital display, radio altimeter, digital autopilot, digital flight director and computer updates. The original, no longer procurable, analog instruments, including all engine gauges, were replaced.[13] Rockwell Collins again supplied the major avionic modules and the modification work is being done at Tinker AFB.[14]

Further upgrades and derivatives
The KC-135Q variant was modified to carry JP-7 fuel necessary for the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird by separating the JP-7 from the KC-135's own fuel supply (the body tanks carrying JP-7, and the wing tanks carrying JP-4 or JP-8). The tanker also had special fuel systems for moving the different fuels between different tanks.[15] When the KC-135Q model received the CFM56 engines, it was redesignated the KC-135T model, which was capable of separating the main body tanks from the wing tanks where the KC-135 draws its engine fuel. The only external difference between a KC-135R and a KC-135T is the presence of a clear window on the underside of the empennage of the KC-135T where a remote controlled searchlight is mounted. It also has two ground refueling ports, located in each rear wheel well so ground crews can fuel both the body tanks and wing tanks separately.

Cutaway of the Flight Refueling Limited Mk.32B Refueling Pod
Eight KC-135R aircraft are receiver-capable tankers, commonly referred to as KC-135R(RT). All eight aircraft were with the 22d Air Refueling Wing at McConnell AFB, Kansas, in 1994.[16] They are primarily used for force extension and Special Operations missions, and are crewed by highly qualified receiver capable crews. If not used for the receiver mission, these aircraft can be flown just like any other KC-135R.

The Multi-point Refueling Systems (MPRS) modification adds refueling pods to the KC-135's wings. The pods allow refueling of U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and most NATO tactical jet aircraft while keeping the tail-mounted refueling boom. The pods themselves are Flight Refueling Limited (FRL) MK.32B model pods, and refuel via the probe and drogue method common to USN/USMC tactical jets, rather than the primary "flying boom" method used by USAF fixed-wing aircraft. This allows the tanker to refuel two receivers at the same time, which increases throughput compared to the boom drogue adapter.[17]

A number of KC-135A and KC-135B aircraft have been modified to EC-135, RC-135 and OC-135 configurations for use in several different roles (although these could also be considered variants of the C-135 Stratolifter family).

Design
The KC-135R has four turbofan engines, mounted under 35-degree swept wings,[18] which power it to takeoffs at gross weights up to 322,500 pounds (146,300 kg). Nearly all internal fuel can be pumped through the tanker's flying boom, the KC-135's primary fuel transfer method. A special shuttlecock-shaped drogue, attached to and trailing behind the flying boom, may be used to refuel aircraft fitted with probes. This apparatus is significantly more unforgiving of pilot error in the receiving aircraft than conventional trailing hose arrangements; an aircraft so fitted is also incapable of refueling by the normal flying boom method until the attachment is removed. A boom operator stationed in the rear of the aircraft controls the boom while lying prone. A cargo deck above the refueling system can hold a mixed load of passengers and cargo. Depending on fuel storage configuration, the KC-135 can carry up to 83,000 pounds (38,000 kg) of cargo.

Operational history
Introduction into service

An F-15 backs out after refueling from a KC-135R.
The KC-135 was initially purchased to support bombers of the Strategic Air Command, but by the late 1960s, in the Southeast Asia theater, the KC-135 Stratotanker's ability as a force multiplier came to the fore. Midair refueling of F-105 and F-4 fighter-bombers as well as B-52 bombers brought far-flung bombing targets within reach, and allowed fighter missions to spend hours at the front, rather than a few minutes, which was usual due to their limited fuel reserves and high fuel consumption. KC-135 crews refueled both Air Force and Navy / Marine Corps aircraft; though they would have to change to probe and drogue adapters depending upon the mission, the Navy and Marine Corps not having fitted their aircraft with flying boom receptacles since the USAF boom system was impractical for aircraft carrier operations. Crews also helped to bring in damaged aircraft which could sometimes fly while being fed by fuel to a landing site or to ditch over the water (specifically those with punctured fuel tanks). KC-135s continued their tactical support role in later conflicts such as Operation Desert Storm and current aerial strategy.

SAC had the KC-135 Stratotanker in service with Regular Air Force SAC units from 1957 through 1992 and with SAC-gained ANG and AFRES units from 1975 through 1992.[19] Following a major USAF reorganization that resulted in the inactivation of SAC in 1992, most KC-135s were reassigned to the newly created AMC.[19] While AMC gained the preponderance of the aerial refueling mission, a small number of KC-135s were also assigned directly to United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) and the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). All AFRC KC-135s and most of the ANG KC-135 fleet became operationally-gained by AMC, while Alaska Air National Guard and Hawaii Air National Guard KC-135s became operationally-gained by PACAF.[citation needed]

AMC manages 414 Stratotankers, of which the AFRC and ANG fly 247 in support of AMC's mission as of May 2014.[20] The KC-135 is one of a few military aircraft types with over 50 years of continuous service with its original operator as of 2009.[21][22]

Israel was offered KC-135s again in 2013, after turning down the aging aircraft twice due to expense of keeping them flying.[23][24] The IAF again rejected the offered KC-135Es, but said that it would consider up to a dozen of the newer KC-135Rs.[25]

Research usage

KC-135 winglet flight tests at Armstrong Flight Research Center.
Besides its primary role as an inflight aircraft refueler, the KC-135, designated NKC-135, has assisted in several research projects at the NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. One such project occurred between 1979 and 1980 when special wingtip "winglets", developed by Richard Whitcomb of the Langley Research Center, were tested at Armstrong, using an NKC-135A tanker loaned to NASA by the Air Force. Winglets are small, nearly vertical fins installed on an aircraft's wing tips. The results of the research showed that drag was reduced and range could be increased by as much as 7 percent at cruise speeds.[26][27] Winglets are now being incorporated into most new commercial and military transport/passenger jets, as well as business aviation jets.

NASA also has operated several KC-135 aircraft (without the tanker equipment installed) as their famed Vomit Comet zero-gravity simulator aircraft. The longest-serving (1973 to 1995) version was KC-135A, AF Ser. No. 59-1481, named Weightless Wonder IV and registered as N930NA.[28]

Replacing the KC-135
Main article: KC-X

KC-135Rs at twilight on the flight line
Between 1993 and 2003, the amount of KC-135 depot maintenance work doubled, and the overhaul cost per aircraft tripled.[29] In 1996, it cost $8,400 per flight hour for the KC-135, and in 2002 this had grown to $11,000. The Air Force's 15-year estimates project further significant cost growth through fiscal year 2017. KC-135 fleet operations and support costs are estimated to grow from about $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2003 to $5.1 billion (2003 dollars) in fiscal year 2017, an increase of over 130 percent, which represents an annual growth rate of about 6.2 percent.[30]

The Air Force projected that E and R models have lifetime flying hour limits of 36,000 and 39,000 hours, respectively. According to the Air Force, only a few KC-135s would reach these limits by 2040, when some aircraft would be about 80 years old. A later 2005 Air Force study estimated that KC-135Es upgraded to the R standard could remain in use until 2030.[9][better source needed]

In 2006, the KC-135E fleet was flying an annual average of 350 hours per aircraft and the KC-135R fleet was flying an annual average of 710 hours per aircraft. The KC-135 fleet is currently flying double its planned yearly flying hour program to meet airborne refueling requirements, and has resulted in higher than forecast usage and sustainment costs.[31] In March 2009, the Air Force indicated that KC-135s would require additional skin replacement to allow their continued use beyond 2018.[32]

View from the boom operator's hatch as a F-35 takes on fuel from a KC-135 of the 912d ARS
The USAF decided to replace the KC-135 fleet. However, the KC-135 fleet is large and will need to be replaced gradually. Initially the first batch of replacement planes was to be an air tanker version of the Boeing 767, leased from Boeing. In 2003, this was changed to contract where the Air Force would purchase 80 KC-767 aircraft and lease 20 more.[33] In December 2003, the Pentagon froze the contract and in January 2006, the KC-767 contract was canceled. This followed public revelations of corruption in how the contract was awarded, as well as controversy regarding the original leasing rather than outright purchase agreement. Then Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld stated that this move will in no way impair the Air Force's ability to deliver the mission of the KC-767, which will be accomplished by continuing upgrades to the KC-135 and KC-10 Extender fleet.

In January 2007, the U.S. Air Force formally launched the KC-X program with a request for proposal (RFP). KC-X is first phase of three acquisition programs to replace the KC-135 fleet.[34] On 29 February 2008, the US Defense Department announced that it had selected the EADS/Northrop Grumman "KC-30" (to be designated the KC-45A) over the Boeing KC-767.[35][36][37] Boeing protested the award on 11 March 2008, citing irregularities in the competition and bid evaluation.[38] On 18 June 2008, the US Government Accountability Office sustained Boeing's protest of the selection of the Northrop Grumman/EADS's tanker.[39] In February 2010, the US Air Force restarted the KC-X competition with the release of a revised request for proposal (RFP).[40][41] After evaluating bids, the USAF selected Boeing's 767-based tanker design, with the military designation KC-46, as a replacement in February 2011.[42] The first KC-46A Pegasus was delivered to the U.S. Air Force on 10 January 2019.[43]

Two foreign users of the KC-135, the French Air Force and the Republic of Singapore Air Force are taking deliveries of Airbus A330 MRTTs as replacements for their Stratotankers.[44][45]

Variants
See Boeing C-135 Stratolifter for further details on the C-135 family.

Active KC-135 aircraft liveries
KC-135A
Original production version powered by four Pratt & Whitney J57s, 732 built. Given the Boeing model numbers 717-100A, 717-146 and 717-148.[46]

NKC-135A
Test-configured KC-135A.

KC-135B
Airborne command post version equipped with turbofan engines, 17 built. Provided with in-flight refueling capability and redesignated EC-135C.[47] Given the model number 717-166.[46]

KC-135D
All four RC-135As (Pacer Swan) were modified to partial KC-135A configuration in 1979.[48][49] The four aircraft (serial numbers 63-8058, 63-8059, 63-8060 and 63-8061) were given a unique designation KC-135D as they differed from the KC-135A in that they were built with a flight engineer's position on the flight deck.[50] The flight engineer's position was removed when the aircraft were modified to KC-135 standards but they retained their electrically powered wing flap secondary (emergency) drive mechanism and second air conditioning pack which had been used to cool the RC-135As on-board photo-mapping systems.[51] Later re-engined with Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines and a cockpit update to KC-135E standards in 1990 and were retired to the 309th AMARG at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ in 2007.[49][52]

KC-135E
Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve KC-135As re-engined with Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-102 engines from retired 707 airliners (161 modified). All E model aircraft were retired to the 309th AMARG at Davis-Monthan AFB by September 2009 and replaced with R models.[6][53]

NKC-135E
Test-configured KC-135E. 55-3132 NKC-135E "Big Crow I" & 63-8050 NKC-135B "Big Crow II" used as airborne targets for the Boeing YAL-1 Airborne Laser carrier.

KC-135Q
KC-135As modified to carry JP-7 fuel necessary for the SR-71 Blackbird, 56 modified,[47] survivors to KC-135T.

KC-135R (1960s)
4 JC/KC-135As converted to Rivet Stand (Later Rivet Quick) configuration for reconnaissance and evaluation of above ground nuclear test (55-3121, 59–1465, 59–1514, 58–0126; 58-0126 replaced 59-1465 after it crashed in 1967). These aircraft were powered by Pratt & Whitney J57 engines and were based at Offutt AFB, Nebraska.

KC-135R
KC-135As and some KC-135Es re-engined with CFM56 engines, 420 converted.[citation needed]

KC-135R(RT)
Receiver-capable KC-135R Stratotanker; eight modified with either a Boeing or LTV receiver system and a secure voice SATCOM radio. Three of the aircraft (60-0356, -0357, and -0362) were converted to tankers from RC-135Ds, from which they retained their added equipment.

Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker (code 62–3567) of the Turkish Air Force arrives at the 2016 Royal International Air Tattoo, England
KC-135T
KC-135Q re-engined with CFM56 engines, 54 modified.

C-135F
A new-built variant for France as dual-role tanker/cargo and troop carrier aircraft.[54] 12 were built for the French Air Force with the addition of a drogue adapter on the refueling boom. Given Boeing model numbers 717-164 and 717-165.[55]

C-135FR
11 surviving C-135Fs upgraded with CFM International F108 turbofans between 1985 and 1988. Later modified with MPRS wing pods.[55]

EC-135Y
An airborne command post modified in 1984 to support CINCCENT. Aircraft 55-3125 was the only EC-135Y. Unlike its sister EC-135N, it was a true tanker that could also receive in-flight refueling. Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-102. Retired to 309th AMARG at Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ.

Operators
Chile
Chilean Air Force operates 3 KC-135Es. It received its first KC-135E in February 2010.[56]
France
French Air and Space Force operates 11 C-135FRs and 3 KC-135Rs, which are being replaced by 15 Airbus A330 MRTTs, French military designation Phénix, from 2018 to 2023.

Turkish KC-135R Stratotanker nicknamed Asena.
Turkey
Turkish Air Force operates 7 KC-135Rs.

Six KC-135 Stratotankers demonstrate the elephant walk formation.

Cargo door of a USAF KC-135 of the 452d AMW at March Air Reserve Base

64 ARS and 157 ARW personnel working on a KC-135R at Pease ANGB in September 2013
United States
United States Air Force operates 398 KC-135s (156 Active duty, 70 Air Force Reserve, and 172 Air National Guard) as of May 2017.[57]
57th Wing – Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
509th Weapons Squadron – Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington
97th Air Mobility Wing – Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma
54th Air Refueling Squadron
55th Air Refueling Squadron
412th Test Wing – Edwards AFB, California
412th Flight Test Squadron
418th Flight Test Squadron
6th Air Refueling Wing – MacDill AFB, Florida
50th Air Refueling Squadron
91st Air Refueling Squadron
99th Air Refueling Squadron – Birmingham Air National Guard Base, Alabama (Associate with 117th ARW)
22d Air Refueling Wing – McConnell AFB, Kansas
349th Air Refueling Squadron
350th Air Refueling Squadron
92d Air Refueling Wing – Fairchild AFB, Washington
92d Air Refueling Squadron
93d Air Refueling Squadron
97th Air Refueling Squadron
384th Air Refueling Squadron
912th Air Refueling Squadron – March ARB, California (Associate with 452d ARW)
375th Air Mobility Wing – Scott AFB, Illinois
906th Air Refueling Squadron (associate with 126th ARW)
18th Wing – Kadena AB, Japan
909th Air Refueling Squadron
100th Air Refueling Wing – RAF Mildenhall, England, UK
351st Air Refueling Squadron
Air Force Reserve
434th Air Refueling Wing – Grissom ARB, Indiana
72d Air Refueling Squadron
74th Air Refueling Squadron
452d Air Mobility Wing – March ARB, California
336th Air Refueling Squadron
459th Air Refueling Wing – Andrews AFB, Maryland
756th Air Refueling Squadron
507th Air Refueling Wing – Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
465th Air Refueling Squadron
730th Air Mobility Training Squadron (Altus AFB, Oklahoma)
914th Air Refueling Wing - Niagara Falls International Airport, New York
328th Air Refueling Squadron
927th Air Refueling Wing – MacDill AFB, Florida (Associate with 6th AMW)
63d Air Refueling Squadron
931st Air Refueling Group – McConnell AFB, Kansas (Associate with 22d ARW)
18th Air Refueling Squadron
940th Air Refueling Wing – Beale AFB, California
314th Air Refueling Squadron
Air National Guard
101st Air Refueling Wing – Bangor, Maine
132d Air Refueilng Squadron
108th Wing – McGuire AFB, New Jersey
141st Air Refueling Squadron
117th Air Refueling Wing – Birmingham, Alabama
106th Air Refueling Squadron
121st Air Refueling Wing – Rickenbacker ANGB, Ohio
166th Air Refueling Squadron
126th Air Refueling Wing – Scott AFB, Illinois
108th Air Refueling Squadron
127th Wing – Selfridge ANGB, Michigan
171st Air Refueling Squadron
128th Air Refueling Wing – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
126th Air Refueling Squadron
134th Air Refueling Wing – Knoxville, Tennessee
151st Air Refueling Squadron
141st Air Refueling Wing – Fairchild AFB, Washington (Associate with 92d ARW)
116th Air Refueling Squadron
151st Air Refueling Wing – Salt Lake City, Utah
191st Air Refueling Squadron
154th Wing – Hickam AFB, Hawaii
203d Air Refueling Squadron
155th Air Refueling Wing – Lincoln, Nebraska
173rd Air Refueling Squadron
161st Air Refueling Wing – Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport / Goldwater Air National Guard Base, Arizona
197th Air Refueling Squadron
168th Air Refueling Wing – Eielson AFB, Alaska
168th Air Refueling Squadron
171st Air Refueling Wing – Pittsburgh IAP Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania
146th Air Refueling Squadron
147th Air Refueling Squadron
185th Air Refueling Wing – Sioux City, Iowa
174th Air Refueling Squadron
186th Air Refueling Wing – Meridian, Mississippi
153d Air Refueling Squadron
190th Air Refueling Wing – Topeka, Kansas
117th Air Refueling Squadron
Note Italy has been reported in some sources as operating several KC-135s,[58] however these are actually Boeing 707-300s converted to tanker configuration.[59][60]

Former operators
Singapore
Republic of Singapore Air Force operated 4 former USAF KC-135R tankers, first delivered September 10, 1999;[61] they were occasionally used as VIP, aeromedical transports[citation needed] and military support.[62][citation needed] sold to Meta Aerospace on October 2, 2020.[63]
United States
NASA (until 2004)
United States Air Force
6th Air Refueling Wing – MacDill AFB, Florida
911th Air Refueling Squadron – Seymour-Johnson AFB, North Carolina (Associate with 916th ARW)
22d Air Refueling Wing – McConnell AFB, Kansas
344th Air Refueling Squadron
916th Air Refueling Wing – Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina
77th Air Refueling Squadron
931st Air Refueling Group – McConnell AFB, Kansas (Associate with 22d ARW)
924th Air Refueling Squadron
Air National Guard
107th Air Refueling Wing – Niagara Falls ARS, New York
136th Air Refueling Squadron (1994–2008)[64]
121st Air Refueling Wing – Rickenbacker ANGB, Ohio
145th Air Refueling Squadron (1975–2013)[65]
137th Air Refueling Wing – Tinker AFB, Oklahoma
185th Air Refueling Squadron (2008–2015)[66][67]
157th Air Refueling Wing – Pease ANGB, New Hampshire
133d Air Refueling Squadron (1975–2019)[68][69]
163rd Air Refueling Wing – March ARB, California
196th Air Refueling Squadron (1993–2006)[70]
184th Air Refueling Wing – McConnell AFB, Kansas
127th Air Refueling Squadron (2002–2008)[71]
189th Air Refueling Wing – Little Rock AFB, Arkansas
154th Air Refueling Squadron (1973–1986)[72]
Accidents
For accidents involving other C-135 variants, see Boeing C-135 Stratolifter, Boeing RC-135, Boeing EC-135, Boeing NC-135, and Boeing WC-135 Constant Phoenix.
As of 2020, 52 Stratotankers have been lost to accidents during the over sixty years of service, involving 385 fatalities.

27 June 1958
USAF KC-135A, serial number 56-3599, stalled and crashed at Westover Air Force Base after the crew failed to extend the flaps on takeoff, killing all 15 on board. The aircraft was attempting a world speed record between New York and London.[73]
31 March 1959
USAF KC-135A, 58-0002, entered a thunderstorm near Killeen, Texas. Two engines separated and one of the engines struck the tail, causing loss of control. The aircraft crashed on a hillside, killing all four crew on board. The aircraft had been delivered just six weeks before the accident.[74]
15 October 1959
USAF KC-135A, 57-1513, collided in mid-air with B-52F 57-0036 at 32,000 feet over Leitchfield, Kentucky, killing all six on board both aircraft.[75]
3 February 1960
USAF KC-135A, 56–3628, crashed on takeoff in extremely gusty crosswind conditions at Roswell-Walker AFB, NM. The airplane skidded into two other KC-135 tankers (57-1449 and 57–1457) and a hangar and burst into flames. The aircraft was on a training flight, but the instructor pilot was occupying the jump seat instead of one of the pilot seats as directed by the local commander. The destruction of three aircraft, along with the death of all six in the crew plus an additional two deaths on the ground made this a unique mishap.[76]
18 November 1960
USAF KC-135A, 56-3605, crashed on landing at Loring Air Force Base due to an excessive sink rate, killing one of 17 on board.[77]
9 May 1962
USAF KC-135A, 56-3618, crashed on takeoff from Loring Air Force Base due to engine failure, killing all six on board.[78]
8 August 1962
USAF KC-135A, 55-3144, crashed on approach to Runway 11 at Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts, killing all three on board. Stock footage of this same aircraft had been used during the opening credits of the film Dr. Strangelove.
10 September 1962
USAF KC-135A, 60-0352 on a flight from Ellsworth Air Force Base to Fairchild Air Force Base crashed into a mountain just 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Spokane, Washington. The flight hit fog on approach to the air base and hit Mount Kit Carson, a 5,271 ft mountain. The crash killed all four crew and 40 passengers on board.[79]
27 February 1963
USAF KC-135A, 56-3597, crashed on takeoff at Eielson Air Force Base due to engine separation, killing all seven on board; two on the ground died when debris from the crash struck a guard house and nearby waiting room.[80]
21 June 1963
USAF KC-135A-BN Stratotanker, 57-1498 out of Westover AFB crashed on approach during a training flight in a wooded area near Belchertown, MA. One of the four occupants was killed.[81]
28 August 1963
USAF KC-135A, 61-0322, collided in mid-air with KC-135A 61-0319 300 miles west of Bermuda, killing all 11 on board both aircraft.[82][83]
8 July 1964
USAF KC-135A, 60-0340, collided in mid-air with F-105 Thunderchief 61-0091 during in-flight refueling over Death Valley, California, killing all five on board both aircraft.[84]
4 January 1965
USAF KC-135A, 61-0265, crashed on climbout from Loring Air Force Base after two engines separated, killing all four on board.[85]
16 January 1965
USAF KC-135A 57-1442, crashed after its rudder control system suffered a malfunction[86] shortly after takeoff from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas.[87] The fuel-laden plane crashed at a street intersection and caused a considerable fire. A total of 30 were killed, including 23 on the ground and the seven member crew.[88]
26 February 1965
USAF KC-135A, 63-8882, collided in mid-air with B-47E 52-0171 over the Atlantic Ocean, killing all eight on board both aircraft.[89]
3 June 1965
USAF KC-135A, 63-0842, lost electrical power on takeoff and crashed at Walker Air Force Base, killing all five on board.[90]
17 January 1966
A fatal collision occurred between a B-52G, 58-0256, and a KC-135A, 61-0273, flying out of Moron AB, Spain while flying over Palomares, Spain. The B-52G was on an Operation Chrome Dome mission, which required multiple air refuelings.[91] The mishap caused both aircraft to break up in mid-air and killed all four crew members on the KC-135A and three of the seven on the B-52G, while causing radiological contamination, as nuclear weapons had to be recovered from on land and at sea, nearby.[92]
19 May 1966
USAF KC-135A, 57-1444, of 4252nd Strategic Wing, crashed on takeoff from Kadena Air Base, killing all 11 on board as well as a motorist on nearby Highway 16. The aircraft was bound for Yokota Air Base to repair a KC-135 when it lifted off too soon during a heavy-weight takeoff.[93]
19 January 1967
USAF KC-135A, 56-3613, crashed into Shadow Mountain, foothill of Mount Spokane (elevation 4,340 ft MSL) while descending towards Fairchild Air Force Base, killing all nine on board.[94]
17 January 1968
USAF KC-135A, 58-0026, stalled and crashed at Minot Air Force Base after the pilot overrotated the aircraft during takeoff in a snowstorm, killing all 13 on board including the 15th Air Force Vice Commander MGen Charles Eisenhart. This accident was instrumental in the decision to refit the KC-135 fleet with the Collins FD-109(V) integrated flight director system, in place of the earlier "round dial" cockpit layout.[95]
30 July 1968
USAF KC-135A, 56-3655, crashed on Mount Lassen after the vertical stabilizer broke off after a sharp turn while practicing an emergency descent, killing all nine on board.[96]
24 September 1968
USAF KC-135A, "55-3133A", crashed on landing at Wake Island, Micronesia. Aircraft developed engine problems while en route from Andersen AFB, Guam to Hickam AFB, HI and during landing at Wake Island the aircraft contacted the surface of the water and bounced onto the east end of the runway.[97] There were 11 fatalities out 56 persons on board.[98]
1 October 1968
USAF KC-135A, 55-3138, struck concrete and steel light poles on takeoff and crashed at U-Tapao Airport, Thailand after a loss of power in an engine and resultant loss of control, killing all four on board.[99]
22 October 1968
USAF KC-135A, 61-0301, flew into a mountain while descending to Ching Chuan Kang Air Base, Taiwan, killing all six on board.[100]
19 December 1969
USAF KC-135A, 56-3629, crashed into the sea on climbout from Ching Chuan Kang Air Base due to low-level windshear, killing all four on board.[101]
3 June 1971
USAF KC-135Q, 58-0039, exploded in mid-air and crashed at Centenera, Spain, killing all five on board.[102]
13 March 1972
KC-135A, 58-0048, crashed while landing at Carswell AFB. Its right wing struck the ground, which led to the airplane exploding and killing all 5 on board.[103]
8 March 1973
USAF KC-135A, 63-7989, collided with KC-135 63-7980 on the ramp at Lockbourne Air Force Base and caught fire, killing two of five on board.[104]
7 December 1975
USAF KC-135A, 60-0354, from Plattsburgh AFB, NY, crashed after takeoff at Eielson AFB, AK, killing all four crewmembers.[105] Launch was delayed because of problems with the receiver aircraft. The KC-135 was required to sit at the end of the runway in extremely cold weather, without heat, with engines shut down. Repeated requests for a mobile heat source were denied by the command post. Landing gear failed to retract after takeoff. Crewmembers may have suffered from hypothermia.[106]
6 February 1976
USAF KC-135A, 60-0368, flew into a mountain while descending to Torrejon Air Base, Spain, killing all seven on board. The aircraft was assigned to the 410th BMW/46th AREFS at K.I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan, but, as is often the case on Tanker Task Force deployed operations, the flight crew was from another SAC unit at Seymour-Johnson AFB, NC.[107] Only two aircraft crew chiefs on board were from K I Sawyer AFB, MI.[108]
26 September 1976
USAF KC-135A, 61-0296, crashed while on approach to Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan, killing 15 passengers and flight crew on board. The aircraft was flying a "First Team" mission taking 10 passengers to HQ-Strategic Air Command for briefings and orientation. The crew became distracted by a cabin pressurization problem after an intermediate stop and descended into a wooded area about 12 miles southwest of Alpena, Michigan. There was one survivor, reportedly a crew chief who was in the boom operator aft station (boom pod) at the time of the crash.[109]
29 April 1977
USAF KC-135A, 58-0101 from Castle AFB hit five or six cows while practicing night takeoffs and landings at Beale AFB. Takeoff was aborted and the plane overran the runway and caught on fire. Of the crew of 7, there were no fatalities. During that time cattle strayed through a broken fence from a nearby field and onto the runway.[109]
19 September 1979
USAF KC-135A, 58-0127, from Castle AFB crashed on the runway during a simulated engine failure on a training flight, killing 15 of 20 occupants on board.[109]
13 March 1982
Arizona ANG KC-135A, 57-1489 collided in mid-air with a civilian Grumman-American AA-1 Yankee near Luke AFB, AZ. The collision, which occurred as the tanker was descending on an IFR flight plan through an undercast, was struck by the civilian aircraft operating VFR just below the cloud deck, causing the tail of the KC-135 to be severed by the force of the impact. The two civilians on the AA-1 and all four crew on the KC-135 were killed. Included among the dead was the squadron commander of the 197th AREFS, Lt Col James N. Floor.[110]
19 March 1982
USAF KC-135A, 58-0031, exploded in mid-air at 13,700 feet and crashed at Greenwood, Illinois, due to a possible overheated fuel pump, killing all 27 on board.[111]
28 August 1985
USAF KC-135A 59-1443 was damaged beyond repair when a student pilot allowed an engine to contact the runway during a landing attempt at Beale Air Force Base near Marysville, California. During the go-around the instructor lost control of the aircraft while performing checklist items for an in-flight fire. All seven (three instructors and four students) aboard the aircraft died in the crash.[112]
17 June 1986
USAF KC-135A,63-7983, crashed while en route to Howard AFB, Panama. It struck a hill south of the nearby Rodman Naval Station, killing all four crew members on board.[113] The tanker and crew were based at Grissom Air Force Base, Indiana.[114]
13 March 1987
USAF KC-135A, 60-0361, crashed at Fairchild Air Force Base after encountering wake turbulence from a B-52, while practicing a low-level refueling display. The aircraft rolled 80 degrees to the left, which stalled both left side engines (#1 and #2). The crew was able to recover to wings level, but were too low and impacted the ground in an open area of the base. The accident killed all six on board and one person on the ground.[115][116]
11 October 1988
USAF KC-135A, 60-0317, crashed at Wurtsmith Force Base after a hard landing following a steep approach during crosswinds. The airplane went off the side of the runway and broke up. A fire erupted and killed all six crewmembers on board, while 10 passengers were able to jump to safety.[117] Pilot error was determined as the cause of the accident.[118]
20 November 1988
USAF KC-135 suffered a failure of a sighting window next to the sextant port in the cockpit during a trans-Atlantic flight. A boom operator died when he was sucked partway through the 10-inch by 8-inch window opening as the cockpit depressurized. None of the 17 others on board were injured.[119]
31 January 1989
USAF KC-135A, 63-7990, crashed on takeoff from Dyess AFB, TX after the water-injection system for the Pratt & Whitney J-57 engines failed and the remaining "dry" thrust was insufficient for flight at the takeoff gross weight. The mission was scheduled as a non-stop flight to Hickam AFB/Honolulu HI with an en route F-16 air refueling mission. 7 crew members and 12 passengers, including military spouses, retired military members and one child, were killed.[120] The aircraft and crew were based at K I Sawyer AFB, MI.[107]
20 September 1989
USAF KC-135E, 57-1481, exploded on the ground at Eielson Air Force Base due to an overheated fuel pump, killing two of seven on board. The crew was shutting down the engines when the explosion occurred.[121]
4 October 1989
KC-135A, 56-3592, from en route from Loring Air Force Base crashed into a hill along the west side of Trans-Canada Highway 2 at Carlingford, New Brunswick due to an overheated fuel pump, killing all four crew members.[122] After five accidents involving fuel pump overheating, crews were to keep 3000 pounds of fuel in the tank.[123]
11 January 1990
KC-135E, 59-1494, caught fire on the tarmac at Pease Air National Guard Base during maintenance work; there were no injuries, however the aircraft was destroyed.[124][125][126]
6 February 1991
KC-135E, call sign "Balls 13", 58-0013 , flown by Maj. Kevin Sweeney (pilot), Capt. Jay Selanders (co-pilot), Capt. Greg Mermis (navigator), and Senior Master Sgt. Steve Stucky (boom operator), during the Gulf War, after entering severe wake turbulence from a passing KC-135, the plane lost both engines from under the left wing. The crew landed it successfully and it was later returned in service. The entire crew received the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions.[127][128]
10 December 1993
a Wisconsin Air National Guard KC-135R, 57-1470, exploded while undergoing routine ground maintenance at General Mitchell Air National Guard Base due to an overheated fuel pump. Six NCO maintenance personnel were killed.[129][130]
13 January 1999
Washington Air National Guard KC-135E, 59-1452, crashed on approach in Geilenkirchen, Germany due to the horizontal stabilizer being in a 7.5 nose-up trim condition, killing all 4 crew members.[131]
7 April 1999
Air National Guard KC-135R, 57-1418, was damaged beyond repair while undergoing a cabin pressurization check while in depot maintenance at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. During a previous maintenance event, the pressure relief valves were secured shut and not released afterwards. This created a catastrophic explosion that nearly separated the empennage from the aircraft and destroyed the aft fuselage section. No personnel were injured or killed during the mishap, but the aircraft was a total loss.[132]
26 September 2006
USAF KC-135R, 63-8886, was damaged beyond economical repair when it was struck by a Tupolev Tu-154 of Altyn Air, EX-85718, while stopped on a taxiway after landing at Manas Air Base. As the Tu-154 took off, its right wing struck the fairing of the KC-135R's No. 1 engine. The force of the impact nearly severed the No. 1 engine and destroyed a portion of the left wing. The resulting fire caused extensive damage to the KC-135. The Tu-154 lost about 6 feet of its right wingtip, but was able to get airborne and return to the airport for an emergency landing. The tanker crew had been directed to use a taxiway which was not usable for night operations and the controller failed to note that they reported "holding short" of that taxiway, rather than "clear of" that point. The crew of the KC-135 evacuated the aircraft without serious injuries.[133]
3 May 2013
A McConnell AFB, KS (USAF) KC-135R, 63-8877, flown by a Fairchild AFB, Washington aircrew, broke up in flight about eight minutes after taking off from Manas Air base in Kyrgyzstan, killing all three crew members.[134][135] After investigation, it was determined that a rudder power control unit malfunction led to a Dutch roll oscillatory instability. Not recognizing the Dutch roll, the crew used the rudder to stay on course, which exacerbated the instability, leading to an unrecoverable flight condition. The over-stressed tail section detached and the aircraft broke apart soon after. The aircraft was at cruise altitude about 200 km west of Bishkek before it crashed in a mountainous area near the village of Chorgolu, close to the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.[136][137][138][139]
Aircraft on display
55-3118 The City of Renton – KC-135A on static display at the entrance to McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. It was the first aircraft built and was used in a variety of test roles. It was later converted to an EC-135K before reverting to a tanker configuration.[140]
55-3130 Old Grandad – KC-135A on static display at the March Field Air Museum, March ARB, California.[141]
55-3139 City of Atwater – KC-135A on static display at the Castle Air Museum at the former Castle AFB, California.[142][143]
56-3595 – KC-135A on static display at the Barksdale Global Power Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.[144][145]
56-3611 – KC-135E on static display Scott Field Heritage Air Park at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.[146][147][148]
56-3639 – KC-135A on static display at the Linear Air Park at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.[149]
56-3658 Iron Eagle – KC-135E on static display at the Kansas Aviation Museum.[150][151]
57-1429 – KC-135E on static display at the Museum of the Kansas National Guard at Forbes Field Air National Guard Base in Kansas.[152][153]
57-1458 – KC-135E on static display at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska.[154][155]
57-1495 – KC-135E in storage at Lincoln Air National Guard Base, Nebraska.[156][157]
57-1507 – KC-135E on static display at the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.[158]
57-1510 Never Forget – KC-135E on static display at the Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.[159]
59-1481 – KC-135A on static display at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base, Texas. It was operated by NASA as N930NA and one of two KC-135s used for zero-gravity and other research purposes.[160]
59-1487 – KC-135E on static display at the 126th Air Refueling Wing / Illinois Air National Guard complex at Scott Air Force Base.[161][162]
59-1497 – KC-135E on static display at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey.[163][164]
63-7998 – KC-135A on static display at the Pima Air & Space Museum, adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona. It was operated by NASA as N931NA and is the second of their two research aircraft.[165]
63-8005 – KC-135A on static display at Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota.
Specifications (KC-135R)

Tail of an Air Force Reserve Command KC-135R tanker showing refueling boom

Boom-drogue adapter refueling a U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet
Data from USAF Fact Sheet,[20] Boeing.com : KC-135[166]

General characteristics

Crew: 3 (pilot, co-pilot and boom operator; some KC-135 missions require the addition of a navigator.)
Capacity: up to 80 passengers / 83,000 lb (38,000 kg)
Length: 136 ft 3 in (41.53 m)
Wingspan: 130 ft 10 in (39.88 m)
Height: 41 ft 8 in (12.70 m)
Wing area: 2,433 sq ft (226.0 m2)
Airfoil: root: BAC 310/311/312; tip: BAC 313[167]
Empty weight: 98,392 lb (44,630 kg)
Operating empty weight: 124,000 lb (56,245 kg)
Gross weight: 297,000 lb (134,717 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 322,500 lb (146,284 kg)
Fuel capacity: 200,000 lb (90,718 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × CFM International F108-CF-100 turbofan engines, 21,600 lbf (96.2 kN) thrust each
Performance

Maximum speed: 504 kn (580 mph, 933 km/h)
Maximum speed: Mach 0.9
Cruise speed: 460.5 kn (529.9 mph, 852.8 km/h) at 30,000 ft (9,144 m)
Range: 1,303.5 nmi (1,500.0 mi, 2,414.1 km) with 150,000 lb (68,039 kg) of transferable fuel
Ferry range: 9,572 nmi (11,015 mi, 17,727 km)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
Rate of climb: 4,900 ft/min (25 m/s)
See also
Aviation portal
Vomit Comet – Fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments
1966 Palomares B-52 crash – 1966 collision between a USAF B-52G and KC-135 over the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Spain
List of United States military aerial refueling aircraft
Related development

Boeing 367-80 – Prototype Boeing aircraft
Boeing C-135 Stratolifter – Military transport aircraft by Boeing
Boeing C-137 Stratoliner – VIP transport aircraft derived from the Boeing 707
Boeing 707 – Narrow-body jet airliner family
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Airbus A310 MRTT – Airbus A310 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) air to air refuelling tanker / transport aircraft
Airbus A330 MRTT – Aerial refuelling tanker aircraft
EADS/Northrop Grumman KC-45 – Proposed aerial refueling tanker aircraft
Airbus CC-150 Polaris – Royal Canadian Air Force transport aircraft based on Airbus A310-300s
Boeing KC-767 – Military tanker/transport aircraft by Boeing
Boeing KC-46 Pegasus – Military aerial refueling and strategic military transport aircraft
Ilyushin Il-78 – Soviet/Russian aerial refueling tanker
Lockheed L-193 – Aircraft development
Lockheed Martin KC-130 – Aerial refueling tanker based on Lockheed Martin C-130
References
The six military fixed-wing aircraft with over 50 years of continuous service are Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bomber (1955); Boeing KC-135 "Stratotanker" mid-air refueller (1957); Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo & troop transporter (1956); Lockheed P-3 Orion naval & submarine surveillance (1962); Lockheed U-2 "Dragon Lady" reconnaissance (1957); and Northrop T-38 Talon jet trainer (1961). There is also one helicopter: Boeing CH-47 Chinook (1962).
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Bibliography
Hopkins, III, Robert S. (1997). Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker. Leicester, England: Midland Publishing. ISBN 1-85780-069-9.
Pither, Tony (1998). The Boeing 707 720 and C-135. Tunbridge Wells, England: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. ISBN 0-85130-236-X.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: KC-135 Stratotanker (category)
USAF KC-135 fact sheet and photo gallery at official USAF website
KC-135 history page and KC-135 image gallery on Boeing.com
KC-135 page on awacs-spotter.nl
Photo gallery of NASA's KC-135A tanker
KC-135 page at globalsecurity.org
KC-135 page at fas.org - (not updated since late 1999, but still perhaps useful)
C-135 page at aero-web.org - Includes specs for many variants
Smart Tankers (Defence Today)
The short film 15 AF HERITAGE - HIGH STRATEGY - BOMBER AND TANKERS TEAM (1980) is available for free download at the Internet Archive
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Categories: Air refuelingBoeing military aircraft1950s United States military tanker aircraftQuadjetsLow-wing aircraftAircraft first flown in 1956
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Audi AG
Audi-Logo 2016.svg
Audi Ingolstadt.jpg
Headquarters in Ingolstadt
Type Subsidiary
Industry Automotive
Predecessors
Auto Union/DKW GmbH
Slaby-Beringer
Wanderer
NSU Motorenwerke AG
Founded
16 July 1909 in
Zwickau (Audi)
29 June 1932 in Chemnitz (Auto Union)

3 September 1949 in Ingolstadt (re-establishment)

10 March 1969 in Neckarsulm (Fusion)[1]

Founder August Horch[2]
Headquarters Ingolstadt, Germany
Number of locations 13 production facilities in 10 countries[3]
Area served Worldwide
Key people Markus Duesmann: Chairman of the Board of Management and Board of Management Member for Technical Development and Product Lines
Products Luxury vehicles
Production output Decrease 1,802,073 units[4]
Revenue Decrease €55.680 billion (2019)[5]
Operating income Increase €4.509 billion (2019)[5]
Net income Increase €3.943 billion (2019)[5]
Total assets Increase €66.878 billion (2019)[5]
Total equity Decrease €28.395 billion (2019)[5]
Number of employees 90,783 (12/2019)[6]
Parent Volkswagen Group
Divisions
Audi Germany
Audi Brussels
Audi Mexico
Audi Hungaria
Audi China
Audi do Brasil
Audi India
Audi Slovakia
Audi Spain
Audi Russia[7]
Subsidiaries
Audi Sport GmbH
Ducati
Italdesign Giugiaro
Lamborghini[7]
Website www.audi.com
Footnotes / references
Audi History: Chronicle,[8] 2011 Annual Financial Report[9]
Audi AG (German: ['a??di ?a?'ge?] (About this soundlisten)) is a German automobile manufacturer that designs, engineers, produces, markets and distributes luxury vehicles. Audi is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group and has its roots at Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. Audi vehicles are produced in nine production facilities worldwide.

The origins of the company are complex, going back to the early 20th century and the initial enterprises (Horch and the Audiwerke) founded by engineer August Horch; and two other manufacturers (DKW and Wanderer), leading to the foundation of Auto Union in 1932. The modern era of Audi essentially began in the 1960s when Auto Union was acquired by Volkswagen from Daimler-Benz.[10] After relaunching the Audi brand with the 1965 introduction of the Audi F103 series, Volkswagen merged Auto Union with NSU Motorenwerke in 1969, thus creating the present-day form of the company.

The company name is based on the Latin translation of the surname of the founder, August Horch. "Horch", meaning "listen" in German, becomes "audi" in Latin. The four rings of the Audi logo each represent one of four car companies that banded together to create Audi's predecessor company, Auto Union. Audi's slogan is Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning "Being Ahead through Technology".[11] Audi, along with fellow German marques BMW and Mercedes-Benz, is among the best-selling luxury automobile brands in the world.[12]

Contents
1 History
1.1 Birth of the company and its name
1.2 The merger of the four companies under the logo of four rings
1.3 Post-World War II
1.4 New Auto Union unit
1.5 Modern era
1.6 Audi 5000 unintended acceleration allegations
1.7 Model introductions
1.8 Audi AG today
2 Technology
2.1 Audi AI
2.2 Bodyshells
2.3 Space frame
2.4 Drivetrains
2.5 LED daytime running lights
2.6 Multi Media Interface
2.7 Synthetic fuels
2.8 Logistics
3 Models
3.1 Current model range
3.2 S and RS models
3.3 Electric vehicles
3.4 Self-driving cars
4 Production figures
5 Motorsport
5.1 Rallying
5.2 In the United States
5.3 Touring cars
5.4 24 Hours of Le Mans
5.5 American Le Mans Series
5.6 European Le Mans Series
5.7 World Endurance Championship
5.8 Formula E
5.9 Formula One
6 Marketing
6.1 Branding
6.2 Sponsorships
6.3 Multitronic campaign
6.4 Audi TDI
6.5 Audi e-tron
6.6 In video games
7 See also
8 Notes
9 References
10 External links
History
Birth of the company and its name
Automobile company Wanderer was originally established in 1885, later becoming a branch of Audi AG. Another company, NSU, which also later merged into Audi, was founded during this time, and later supplied the chassis for Gottlieb Daimler's four-wheeler.[13]

On 14 November 1899, August Horch (1868–1951) established the company A. Horch & Cie. in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne. In 1902, he moved with his company to Reichenbach im Vogtland. On 10 May 1904, he founded the August Horch & Cie. Motorwagenwerke AG, a joint-stock company in Zwickau (State of Saxony).

After troubles with Horch chief financial officer, August Horch left Motorwagenwerke and founded in Zwickau on 16 July 1909, his second company, the August Horch Automobilwerke GmbH. His former partners sued him for trademark infringement. The German Reichsgericht (Supreme Court) in Leipzig,[14] eventually determined that the Horch brand belonged to his former company.[15]

1923 Audi Type E
Since August Horch was prohibited from using "Horch" as a trade name in his new car business, he called a meeting with close business friends, Paul and Franz Fikentscher from Zwickau. At the apartment of Franz Fikentscher, they discussed how to come up with a new name for the company. During this meeting, Franz's son was quietly studying Latin in a corner of the room. Several times he looked like he was on the verge of saying something but would just swallow his words and continue working, until he finally blurted out, "Father – audiatur et altera pars... wouldn't it be a good idea to call it audi instead of horch?"[16] "Horch!" in German means "Hark!" or "hear", which is "Audi" in the singular imperative form of "audire" – "to listen" – in Latin. The idea was enthusiastically accepted by everyone attending the meeting.[17] On 25 April 1910 the Audi Automobilwerke GmbH Zwickau (from 1915 on Audiwerke AG Zwickau) was entered in the company's register of Zwickau registration court.

The first Audi automobile, the Audi Type A 10/22 hp (16 kW) Sport-Phaeton, was produced in the same year,[18] followed by the successor Type B 10/28PS in the same year.[19]

Audi started with a 2,612 cc inline-four engine model Type A, followed by a 3,564 cc model, as well as 4,680 cc and 5,720 cc models. These cars were successful even in sporting events. The first six-cylinder model Type M, 4,655 cc appeared in 1924.[20]

August Horch left the Audiwerke in 1920 for a high position at the ministry of transport, but he was still involved with Audi as a member of the board of trustees. In September 1921, Audi became the first German car manufacturer to present a production car, the Audi Type K, with left-handed drive.[21] Left-hand drive spread and established dominance during the 1920s because it provided a better view of oncoming traffic, making overtaking safer[21] when driving on the right.

The merger of the four companies under the logo of four rings
Main article: Auto Union
In August 1928, Jørgen Rasmussen, the owner of Dampf-Kraft-Wagen (DKW), acquired the majority of shares in Audiwerke AG.[22] In the same year, Rasmussen bought the remains of the U.S. automobile manufacturer Rickenbacker, including the manufacturing equipment for 8-cylinder engines. These engines were used in Audi Zwickau and Audi Dresden models that were launched in 1929. At the same time, 6-cylinder and 4-cylinder (the "four" with a Peugeot engine) models were manufactured. Audi cars of that era were luxurious cars equipped with special bodywork.

In 1932, Audi merged with Horch, DKW, and Wanderer, to form Auto Union AG, Chemnitz. It was during this period that the company offered the Audi Front that became the first European car to combine a six-cylinder engine with front-wheel drive. It used a power train shared with the Wanderer, but turned 180 degrees, so that the drive shaft faced the front.

Before World War II, Auto Union used the four interlinked rings that make up the Audi badge today, representing these four brands. However, this badge was used only on Auto Union racing cars in that period while the member companies used their own names and emblems. The technological development became more and more concentrated and some Audi models were propelled by Horch- or Wanderer-built engines.

Reflecting the economic pressures of the time, Auto Union concentrated increasingly on smaller cars through the 1930s, so that by 1938 the company's DKW brand accounted for 17.9% of the German car market, while Audi held only 0.1%. After the final few Audis were delivered in 1939 the "Audi" name disappeared completely from the new car market for more than two decades.

Post-World War II

IFA F9
Like most German manufacturing, at the onset of World War II the Auto Union plants were retooled for military production, and were a target for allied bombing during the war which left them damaged.

Overrun by the Soviet Army in 1945, on the orders of the Soviet Union military administration the factories were dismantled as part of war reparations.[23] Following this, the company's entire assets were expropriated without compensation.[23] On 17 August 1948, Auto Union AG of Chemnitz was deleted from the commercial register.[22] These actions had the effect of liquidating Germany's Auto Union AG. The remains of the Audi plant of Zwickau became the VEB (for "People Owned Enterprise") Automobilwerk Zwickau [de] or AWZ (in English: Automobile Works Zwickau).

With no prospect of continuing production in Soviet-controlled East Germany, Auto Union executives began the process of relocating what was left of the company to West Germany. A site was chosen in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, to start a spare parts operation in late 1945, which would eventually serve as the headquarters of the reformed Auto Union in 1949.

The former Audi factory in Zwickau restarted assembly of the pre-war models in 1949. These DKW models were renamed to IFA F8 and IFA F9 and were similar to the West German versions. West and East German models were equipped with the traditional and renowned DKW two-stroke engines. The Zwickau plant manufactured the infamous Trabant until 1991, when it came under Volkswagen control—effectively bringing it under the same umbrella as Audi since 1945.

New Auto Union unit
A new West German headquartered Auto Union was launched in Ingolstadt with loans from the Bavarian state government and Marshall Plan aid.[23] The reformed company was launched 3 September 1949 and continued DKW's tradition of producing front-wheel drive vehicles with two-stroke engines.[23] This included production of a small but sturdy 125 cc motorcycle and a DKW delivery van, the DKW F89 L at Ingolstadt. The Ingolstadt site was large, consisting of an extensive complex of formerly military buildings which was suitable for administration as well as vehicle warehousing and distribution, but at this stage there was at Ingolstadt no dedicated plant suitable for mass production of automobiles: for manufacturing the company's first post-war mass-market passenger car plant capacity in Düsseldorf was rented from Rheinmetall-Borsig. It was only ten years later, after the company had attracted an investor, when funds became available for construction of major car plant at the Ingolstadt head office site.

In 1958, in response to pressure from Friedrich Flick, then the company's largest single shareholder,[24] Daimler-Benz took an 87% holding in the Auto Union company, and this was increased to a 100% holding in 1959. However, small two-stroke cars were not the focus of Daimler-Benz's interests, and while the early 1960s saw major investment in new Mercedes models and in a state of the art factory for Auto Union's, the company's aging model range at this time did not benefit from the economic boom of the early 1960s to the same extent as competitor manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Opel. The decision to dispose of the Auto Union business was based on its lack of profitability.[25] Ironically, by the time they sold the business, it also included a large new factory and near production-ready modern four-stroke engine, which would enable the Auto Union business, under a new owner, to embark on a period of profitable growth, now producing not Auto Unions or DKWs, but using the "Audi" name, resurrected in 1965 after a 25-year gap.

In 1964, Volkswagen acquired a 50% holding in the business, which included the new factory in Ingolstadt, the DKW and Audi brands along with the rights to the new engine design which had been funded by Daimler-Benz, who in return retained the dormant Horch trademark and the Düsseldorf factory which became a Mercedes-Benz van assembly plant. Eighteen months later, Volkswagen bought complete control of Ingolstadt, and by 1966 were using the spare capacity of the Ingolstadt plant to assemble an additional 60,000 Volkswagen Beetles per year.[26] Two-stroke engines became less popular during the 1960s as customers were more attracted to the smoother four-stroke engines. In September 1965, the DKW F102 was fitted with a four-stroke engine and a facelift for the car's front and rear. Volkswagen dumped the DKW brand because of its associations with two-stroke technology, and having classified the model internally as the F103, sold it simply as the "Audi". Later developments of the model were named after their horsepower ratings and sold as the Audi 60, 75, 80, and Super 90, selling until 1972. Initially, Volkswagen was hostile to the idea of Auto Union as a standalone entity producing its own models having acquired the company merely to boost its own production capacity through the Ingolstadt assembly plant – to the point where Volkswagen executives ordered that the Auto Union name and flags bearing the four rings were removed from the factory buildings. Then VW chief Heinz Nordhoff explicitly forbade Auto Union from any further product development. Fearing that Volkswagen had no long-term ambition for the Audi brand, Auto Union engineers under the leadership of Ludwig Kraus developed the first Audi 100 in secret, without Nordhoff's knowledge. When presented with a finished prototype, Nordhoff was so impressed he authorised the car for production, which when launched in 1968, went on to be a huge success. With this, the resurrection of the Audi brand was now complete, this being followed by the first generation Audi 80 in 1972, which would in turn provide a template for VW's new front-wheel-drive water-cooled range which debuted from the mid-1970s onward.

Audi 80 assembly line in Wolfsburg, 1973
In 1969, Auto Union merged with NSU, based in Neckarsulm, near Stuttgart. In the 1950s, NSU had been the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles, but had moved on to produce small cars like the NSU Prinz, the TT and TTS versions of which are still popular as vintage race cars. NSU then focused on new rotary engines based on the ideas of Felix Wankel. In 1967, the new NSU Ro 80 was a car well ahead of its time in technical details such as aerodynamics, light weight, and safety. However, teething problems with the rotary engines put an end to the independence of NSU. The Neckarsulm plant is now used to produce the larger Audi models A6 and A8. The Neckarsulm factory is also home of the "quattro GmbH" (from November 2016 "Audi Sport GmbH"), a subsidiary responsible for development and production of Audi high-performance models: the R8 and the RS model range.

Modern era
The new merged company was incorporated on 1 January 1969 and was known as Audi NSU Auto Union AG, with its headquarters at NSU's Neckarsulm plant, and saw the emergence of Audi as a separate brand for the first time since the pre-war era. Volkswagen introduced the Audi brand to the United States for the 1970 model year. That same year, the mid-sized car that NSU had been working on, the K70, originally intended to slot between the rear-engined Prinz models and the futuristic NSU Ro 80, was instead launched as a Volkswagen.

After the launch of the Audi 100 of 1968, the Audi 80/Fox (which formed the basis for the 1973 Volkswagen Passat) followed in 1972 and the Audi 50 (later rebadged as the Volkswagen Polo) in 1974. The Audi 50 was a seminal design because it was the first incarnation of the Golf/Polo concept, one that led to a hugely successful world car. Ultimately, the Audi 80 and 100 (progenitors of the A4 and A6, respectively) became the company's biggest sellers, whilst little investment was made in the fading NSU range; the Prinz models were dropped in 1973 whilst the fatally flawed NSU Ro80 went out of production in 1977, spelling the effective end of the NSU brand. Production of the Audi 100 had been steadily moved from Ingolstadt to Neckarsulm as the 1970s had progressed, and by the appearance of the second generation C2 version in 1976, all production was now at the former NSU plant. Neckarsulm from that point onward would produce Audi's higher-end models.

The Audi image at this time was a conservative one, and so, a proposal from chassis engineer Jörg Bensinger[27] was accepted to develop the four-wheel drive technology in Volkswagen's Iltis military vehicle for an Audi performance car and rally racing car. The performance car, introduced in 1980, was named the "Audi Quattro", a turbocharged coupé which was also the first German large-scale production vehicle to feature permanent all-wheel drive through a centre differential. Commonly referred to as the "Ur-Quattro" (the "Ur-" prefix is a German augmentative used, in this case, to mean "original" and is also applied to the first generation of Audi's S4 and S6 Sport Saloons, as in "UrS4" and "UrS6"), few of these vehicles were produced (all hand-built by a single team), but the model was a great success in rallying. Prominent wins proved the viability of all-wheel-drive racecars, and the Audi name became associated with advances in automotive technology.

In 1985, with the Auto Union and NSU brands effectively dead, the company's official name was now shortened to simply Audi AG. At the same time the company's headquarters moved back to Ingolstadt and two new wholly owned subsidiaries; Auto Union GmbH and NSU GmbH, were formed to own and manage the historical trademarks and intellectual property of the original constituent companies (the exception being Horch, which had been retained by Daimler-Benz after the VW takeover), and to operate Audi's heritage operations.

Audi Quattro
In 1986, as the Passat-based Audi 80 was beginning to develop a kind of "grandfather's car" image, the type 89 was introduced. This completely new development sold extremely well. However, its modern and dynamic exterior belied the low performance of its base engine, and its base package was quite spartan (even the passenger-side mirror was an option.) In 1987, Audi put forward a new and very elegant Audi 90, which had a much superior set of standard features. In the early 1990s, sales began to slump for the Audi 80 series, and some basic construction problems started to surface.

In the early part of the 21st century, Audi set forth on a German racetrack to claim and maintain several world records, such as top speed endurance. This effort was in-line with the company's heritage from the 1930s racing era Silver Arrows.

Through the early 1990s, Audi began to shift its target market upscale to compete against German automakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW. This began with the release of the Audi V8 in 1990. It was essentially a new engine fitted to the Audi 100/200, but with noticeable bodywork differences. Most obvious was the new grille that was now incorporated in the bonnet.

By 1991, Audi had the four-cylinder Audi 80, the 5-cylinder Audi 90 and Audi 100, the turbocharged Audi 200 and the Audi V8. There was also a coupé version of the 80/90 with both four- and five-cylinder engines.

Although the five-cylinder engine was a successful and robust powerplant, it was still a little too different for the target market. With the introduction of an all-new Audi 100 in 1992, Audi introduced a 2.8L V6 engine. This engine was also fitted to a face-lifted Audi 80 (all 80 and 90 models were now badged 80 except for the USA), giving this model a choice of four-, five-, and six-cylinder engines, in saloon, coupé and convertible body styles.

The five-cylinder was soon dropped as a major engine choice; however, a turbocharged 220 PS (160 kW; 220 hp) version remained. The engine, initially fitted to the 200 quattro 20V of 1991, was a derivative of the engine fitted to the Sport Quattro. It was fitted to the Audi Coupé, named the S2, and also to the Audi 100 body, and named the S4. These two models were the beginning of the mass-produced S series of performance cars.

Audi 5000 unintended acceleration allegations
Sales in the United States fell after a series of recalls from 1982 to 1987 of Audi 5000 models[28] associated with reported incidents of sudden unintended acceleration linked to six deaths and 700 accidents.[28] At the time, NHTSA was investigating 50 car models from 20 manufacturers for sudden surges of power.[29]

A 60 Minutes report aired 23 November 1986,[30] featuring interviews with six people who had sued Audi after reporting unintended acceleration, showing an Audi 5000 ostensibly suffering a problem when the brake pedal was pushed.[31][32] Subsequent investigation revealed that 60 Minutes had engineered the failure – fitting a canister of compressed air on the passenger-side floor, linked via a hose to a hole drilled into the transmission.[30]

Audi 100 C3, sold as the Audi 5000 in the U.S.
Audi contended, prior to findings by outside investigators,[29] that the problems were caused by driver error, specifically pedal misapplication.[29] Subsequently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) concluded that the majority of unintended acceleration cases, including all the ones that prompted the 60 Minutes report, were caused by driver error such as confusion of pedals.[33] CBS did not acknowledge the test results of involved government agencies, but did acknowledge the similar results of another study.[31]

In a review study published in 2012, NHTSA summarized its past findings about the Audi unintended acceleration problems: "Once an unintended acceleration had begun, in the Audi 5000, due to a failure in the idle-stabilizer system (producing an initial acceleration of 0.3g), pedal misapplication resulting from panic, confusion, or unfamiliarity with the Audi 5000 contributed to the severity of the incident."[34]

This summary is consistent with the conclusions of NHTSA's most technical analysis at the time: "Audi idle-stabilization systems were prone to defects which resulted in excessive idle speeds and brief unanticipated accelerations of up to 0.3g [which is similar in magnitude to an emergency stop in a subway car]. These accelerations could not be the sole cause of [(long-duration) sudden acceleration incidents (SAI)], but might have triggered some SAIs by startling the driver.[35] The defective idle-stabilization system performed a type of electronic throttle control. Significantly: multiple "intermittent malfunctions of the electronic control unit were observed and recorded ... and [were also observed and] reported by Transport Canada."[35]

With a series of recall campaigns, Audi made several modifications; the first adjusted the distance between the brake and accelerator pedal on automatic-transmission models.[28] Later repairs, of 250,000 cars dating back to 1978, added a device requiring the driver to press the brake pedal before shifting out of park.[28] A legacy of the Audi 5000 and other reported cases of sudden unintended acceleration are intricate gear stick patterns and brake interlock mechanisms to prevent inadvertent shifting into forward or reverse. It is unclear how the defects in the idle-stabilization system were addressed.

Audi's U.S. sales, which had reached 74,061 in 1985, dropped to 12,283 in 1991 and remained level for three years.[28] – with resale values falling dramatically.[36] Audi subsequently offered increased warranty protection[36] and renamed the affected models – with the 5000 becoming the 100 and 200 in 1989[29] – and reached the same sales levels again only by model year 2000.[28]

A 2010 BusinessWeek article – outlining possible parallels between Audi's experience and 2009–2010 Toyota vehicle recalls – noted a class-action lawsuit filed in 1987 by about 7,500 Audi 5000-model owners remains unsettled and remains contested in Chicago's Cook County after appeals at the Illinois state and U.S. federal levels.[28]

Model introductions
In the mid-to-late 1990s, Audi introduced new technologies including the use of aluminium construction. Produced from 1999 to 2005, the Audi A2 was a futuristic super mini, born from the Al2 concept, with many features that helped regain consumer confidence, like the aluminium space frame, which was a first in production car design. In the A2 Audi further expanded their TDI technology through the use of frugal three-cylinder engines. The A2 was extremely aerodynamic and was designed around a wind tunnel. The Audi A2 was criticised for its high price and was never really a sales success but it planted Audi as a cutting-edge manufacturer. The model, a Mercedes-Benz A-Class competitor, sold relatively well in Europe. However, the A2 was discontinued in 2005 and Audi decided not to develop an immediate replacement.

The next major model change came in 1995 when the Audi A4 replaced the Audi 80. The new nomenclature scheme was applied to the Audi 100 to become the Audi A6 (with a minor facelift). This also meant the S4 became the S6 and a new S4 was introduced in the A4 body. The S2 was discontinued. The Audi Cabriolet continued on (based on the Audi 80 platform) until 1999, gaining the engine upgrades along the way. A new A3 hatchback model (sharing the Volkswagen Golf Mk4's platform) was introduced to the range in 1996, and the radical Audi TT coupé and roadster were debuted in 1998 based on the same underpinnings.

The engines available throughout the range were now a 1.4 L, 1.6 L and 1.8 L four-cylinder, 1.8 L four-cylinder turbo, 2.6 L and 2.8 L V6, 2.2 L turbo-charged five-cylinder and the 4.2 L V8 engine. The V6s were replaced by new 2.4 L and 2.8 L 30V V6s in 1998, with marked improvement in power, torque and smoothness. Further engines were added along the way, including a 3.7 L V8 and 6.0 L W12 engine for the A8.

Audi AG today
Audi's sales grew strongly in the 2000s, with deliveries to customers increasing from 653,000 in 2000 to 1,003,000 in 2008. The largest sales increases came from Eastern Europe (+19.3%), Africa (+17.2%) and the Middle East (+58.5%). China in particular has become a key market, representing 108,000 out of 705,000 cars delivered in the first three quarters of 2009. One factor for its popularity in China is that Audis have become the car of choice for purchase by the Chinese government for officials, and purchases by the government are responsible for 20% of its sales in China.[37] As of late 2009, Audi's operating profit of €1.17 billion ($1.85 billion) made it the biggest contributor to parent Volkswagen Group's nine-month operating profit of €1.5 billion, while the other marques in Group such as Bentley and SEAT had suffered considerable losses.[38] May 2011 saw record sales for Audi of America with the new Audi A7 and Audi A3 TDI Clean Diesel.[39] In May 2012, Audi reported a 10% increase in its sales—from 408 units to 480 in the last year alone.[40]

Audi manufactures vehicles in seven plants around the world, some of which are shared with other VW Group marques[41] although many sub-assemblies such as engines and transmissions are manufactured within other Volkswagen Group plants.

Audi's two principal assembly plants are:

Ingolstadt, opened by Auto Union in 1964 (A3, A4, A5, Q5)
Neckarsulm, acquired from NSU in 1969 (A4, A6, A7, A8, R8, and all RS variants)
Outside of Germany, Audi produces vehicles at:

Aurangabad, India, since 2006
Bratislava, Slovakia, shared with Volkswagen, SEAT, Škoda and Porsche (Q7 and Q8)
Brussels, Belgium, acquired from Volkswagen in 2007 (e-tron)
Changchun, China, since 1995
Gyor, Hungary (TT and some A3 variants)
Jakarta, Indonesia, since 2011
Martorell, Spain, shared with SEAT and Volkswagen (A1)
San José Chiapa, Mexico (2nd gen Q5)
In September 2012, Audi announced the construction of its first North American manufacturing plant in Puebla, Mexico. This plant became operative in 2016 and produces the second generation Q5.[42]

From 2002 up to 2003, Audi headed the Audi Brand Group, a subdivision of the Volkswagen Group's Automotive Division consisting of Audi, Lamborghini and SEAT, which was focused on sporty values, with the marques' product vehicles and performance being under the higher responsibility of the Audi brand.

In January 2014, Audi, along with the Wireless Power Consortium, operated a booth which demonstrated a phone compartment using the Qi open interface standard at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).[43] In May, most of the Audi dealers in the UK falsely claimed that the Audi A7, A8, and R8 were Euro NCAP safety tested, all achieving five out of five stars. In fact none were tested.[44]

In 2015, Audi admitted that at least 2.1 million Audi cars had been involved in the Volkswagen emissions testing scandal in which software installed in the cars manipulated emissions data to fool regulators and allow the cars to pollute at higher than government-mandated levels. The A1, A3, A4, A5, A6, TT, Q3 and Q5 models were implicated in the scandal.[45] Audi promised to quickly find a technical solution and upgrade the cars so they can function within emissions regulations.[46] Ulrich Hackenberg, the head of research and development at Audi, was suspended in relation to the scandal.[47] Despite widespread media coverage about the scandal through the month of September, Audi reported that U.S. sales for the month had increased by 16.2%.[48] Audi's parent company Volkswagen announced on 18 June 2018 that Audi chief executive Rupert Stadler had been arrested.[49]

In November 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency implicated the 3-liter diesel engine versions of the 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and the Q5 as further models that had emissions regulation defeat-device software installed.[50] Thus, these models emitted nitrogen oxide at up to nine times the legal limit when the car detected that it was not hooked up to emissions testing equipment.[51]

In November 2016, Audi expressed an intention to establish an assembly factory in Pakistan, with the company's local partner acquiring land for a plant in Korangi Creek Industrial Park in Karachi. Approval of the plan would lead to an investment of $30 million in the new plant.[52] Audi planned to cut 9,500 jobs in Germany starting from 2020 till 2025 to fund electric vehicles and digital working.[53]

In February 2020, Volkswagen AG announced that it plans to take over all Audi shares it does not own (totalling 0.36%) via a squeeze-out according to German stock corporation law, thus making Audi a fully owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.[54] This change took effect from 16 November 2020, when Audi became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.[55]

In January 2021, Audi announced that it is planning to sell 1 million vehicles in China in 2023, comparing to 726,000 vehicles in 2020.[56]

Technology
Audi AI
Audi AI is a driver assist feature offered by Audi. The company's stated intent is to offer fully autonomous driving at a future time, acknowledging that legal, regulatory and technical hurdles must be overcome to achieve this goal. On 4 June 2017, Audi stated that its new A8 will be fully self-driving for speeds up to 60 km/h using its Audi AI. Contrary to other cars, the driver will not have to do safety checks such as touching the steering wheel every 15 seconds to use this feature. The Audi A8 will therefore be the first production car to reach level 3 autonomous driving, meaning that the driver can safely turn their attention away from driving tasks, e.g. the driver can text or watch a movie. Audi will also be the first manufacturer to use a 3D Lidar system in addition to cameras and ultrasonic sensors for their AI.[57][58]

Bodyshells
Audi produces 100% galvanised cars to prevent corrosion,[59] and was the first mass-market vehicle to do so, following introduction of the process by Porsche, c. 1975. Along with other precautionary measures, the full-body zinc coating has proved to be very effective in preventing rust. The body's resulting durability even surpassed Audi's own expectations, causing the manufacturer to extend its original 10-year warranty against corrosion perforation to currently 12 years (except for aluminium bodies which do not rust).[60]

Space frame

The Audi R8 uses Audi Space Frame technology
Audi introduced a new series of vehicles in the mid-1990s and continues to pursue new technology and high performance. An all-aluminium car was brought forward by Audi, and in 1994 the Audi A8 was launched, which introduced aluminium space frame technology (called Audi Space Frame or ASF) which saves weight and improves torsion rigidity compared to a conventional steel frame. Prior to that effort, Audi used examples of the Type 44 chassis fabricated out of aluminium as test-beds for the technique. The disadvantage of the aluminium frame is that it is very expensive to repair and requires a specialized aluminium bodyshop.[61] The weight reduction is somewhat offset by the quattro four-wheel drive system which is standard in most markets. Nonetheless, the A8 is usually the lightest all-wheel drive car in the full-size luxury segment, also having best-in-class fuel economy.[62] The Audi A2, Audi TT and Audi R8 also use Audi Space Frame designs.

Drivetrains
Layout
For most of its lineup (excluding the A3, A1, and TT models), Audi has not adopted the transverse engine layout which is typically found in economy cars (such as Peugeot and Citroën), since that would limit the type and power of engines that can be installed. To be able to mount powerful engines (such as a V8 engine in the Audi S4 and Audi RS4, as well as the W12 engine in the Audi A8L W12), Audi has usually engineered its more expensive cars with a longitudinally front-mounted engine, in an "overhung" position, over the front wheels in front of the axle line - this layout dates back to the DKW and Auto Union saloons from the 1950s. But while this allows for the easy adoption of all-wheel drive, it goes against the ideal 50:50 weight distribution.

In all its post Volkswagen-era models, Audi has firmly refused to adopt the traditional rear-wheel drive layout favored by its two archrivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW, favoring either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. The majority of Audi's lineup in the United States features all-wheel drive standard on most of its expensive vehicles (only the entry-level trims of the A4 and A6 are available with front-wheel drive), in contrast to Mercedes-Benz and BMW whose lineup treats all-wheel drive as an option. BMW did not offer all-wheel drive on its V8-powered cars (as opposed to crossover SUVs) until the 2010 BMW 7 Series and 2011 BMW 5 Series, while the Audi A8 has had all-wheel drive available/standard since the 1990s. Regarding high-performance variants, Audi S and RS models have always had all-wheel drive, unlike their direct rivals from BMW M and Mercedes-AMG whose cars are rear-wheel drive only (although their performance crossover SUVs are all-wheel drive).

Audi has recently applied the quattro badge to models such as the A3 and TT which do not use the Torsen-based system as in prior years with a mechanical center differential, but with the Haldex Traction electro-mechanical clutch AWD system.

Engines
Further information: List of Audi vehicles § Production model engines

Volkswagen Group W12 engine from the Volkswagen Phaeton W12
Prior to the introduction of the Audi 80 and Audi 50 in 1972 and 1974, respectively, Audi had led the development of the EA111 and EA827 inline-four engine families. These new power units underpinned the water-cooled revival of parent company Volkswagen (in the Polo, Golf, Passat and Scirocco), whilst the many derivatives and descendants of these two basic engine designs have appeared in every generation of VW Group vehicles right up to the present day.

In the 1980s, Audi, along with Volvo, was the champion of the inline-five cylinder, 2.1/2.2 L engine as a longer-lasting alternative to more traditional six-cylinder engines. This engine was used not only in production cars but also in their race cars. The 2.1 L inline five-cylinder engine was used as a base for the rally cars in the 1980s, providing well over 400 horsepower (300 kilowatts) after modification. Before 1990, there were engines produced with a displacement between 2.0 L and 2.3 L. This range of engine capacity allowed for both fuel economy and power.

For the ultra-luxury version of its Audi A8 fullsize luxury flagship sedan, the Audi A8L W12, Audi uses the Volkswagen Group W12 engine instead of the conventional V12 engine favored by rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW. The W12 engine configuration (also known as a "WR12") is created by forming two imaginary narrow-angle 15° VR6 engines at an angle of 72°, and the narrow angle of each set of cylinders allows just two overhead camshafts to drive each pair of banks, so just four are needed in total. The advantage of the W12 engine is its compact packaging, allowing Audi to build a 12-cylinder sedan with all-wheel drive, whereas a conventional V12 engine could have only a rear-wheel drive configuration as it would have no space in the engine bay for a differential and other components required to power the front wheels. In fact, the 6.0 L W12 in the Audi A8L W12 is smaller in overall dimensions than the 4.2 L V8 that powers the Audi A8 4.2 variants.[63] The 2011 Audi A8 debuted a revised 6.3-litre version of the W12 (WR12) engine with 500 PS (370 kW; 490 hp).

Fuel Stratified Injection
New models of the A3, A4, A6 and A8 have been introduced, with the ageing 1.8-litre engine now having been replaced by new Fuel Stratified Injection (FSI) engines. Nearly every petroleum burning model in the range now incorporates this fuel-saving technology.

V8 FSI engine
Direct-Shift Gearbox
In 2003 Volkswagen introduced the Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG), a type of dual-clutch transmission. It is a type of automatic transmission, drivable like a conventional torque converter automatic transmission. Based on the gearbox found in the Group B S1, the system includes dual electro-hydraulically controlled clutches instead of a torque converter. This is implemented in some VW Golfs, Audi A3, Audi A4 and TT models where DSG is called S-Tronic.

LED daytime running lights
Beginning in 2005, Audi has implemented white LED technology as daytime running lights (DRL) in their products. The distinctive shape of the DRLs has become a trademark of sorts. LEDs were first introduced on the Audi A8 W12, the world's first production car to have LED DRLs,[64][65][66] and have since spread throughout the entire model range. The LEDs are present on some Audi billboards.

Since 2010, Audi has also offered the LED technology in low- and high-beam headlights.[67]

The DRL in an Audi A4 B8
Multi Media Interface

Multi Media Interface-Menu on Audi virtual cockpit, Audi TT Mk3
Starting with the 2003 Audi A8, Audi has used a centralised control interface for its on-board infotainment systems, called Multi Media Interface (MMI). It is essentially a rotating control knob and 'segment' buttons – designed to control all in-car entertainment devices (radio, CD changer, iPod, TV tuner), satellite navigation, heating and ventilation, and other car controls with a screen.

The availability of MMI has gradually filtered down the Audi lineup, and following its introduction on the third generation A3 in 2011, MMI is now available across the entire range. It has been generally well received, as it requires less menu-surfing with its segment buttons around a central knob, along with 'main function' direct access buttons – with shortcuts to the radio or phone functions. The colour screen is mounted on the upright dashboard, and on the A4 (new), A5, A6, A8, and Q7, the controls are mounted horizontally.

Synthetic fuels
Main article: Electrofuel
Audi has assisted with technology to produce synthetic diesel from water and carbon dioxide.[68][69][70] Audi calls the synthetic diesel E-diesel. It is also working on synthetic gasoline (which it calls E-gasoline).[71]

Logistics
Audi uses scanning gloves for parts registration during assembly, and automatic robots to transfer cars from factory to rail cars.[72]

Models
Main article: List of Audi vehicles
Current model range
The following tables list Audi production vehicles that are sold as of 2018:

Audi cars
A1 2018 Audi A1 S Line 30 TFSi S-A 1.0.jpg Supermini
Sportback (5-door hatchback)
A3 Audi A3 SportBack 2017 (front).jpg Small family car
Saloon (sedan)
Sportback (5-door hatchback)
Cabriolet
A4 2018 Audi A4 Sport TDi Quattro S-A 2.0.jpg Compact
executive car
Saloon (sedan)
Avant (estate/wagon)
Allroad (crossover
estate/wagon)
A5 2018 Audi A5 S Line TDi S-A 2.0 Front.jpg Compact
executive car
Coupé
Sportback (5-door hatchback)
Cabriolet (convertible)
A6 2018 Audi A6 TDi Quattro Front.jpg Executive car
Saloon (sedan)
Avant (estate/wagon)
Allroad (crossover estate/wagon)
A7 2018 Audi A7 S Line 40 TDi S-A 2.0.jpg Executive Car
Sportback (5-door hatchback)
A8 2018 Audi A8 50 TDi Quattro Automatic 3.0.jpg Full-size
luxury car
Saloon (sedan)
Audi coupés and SUVs
TT Audi TT Roadster 45 TFSI quattro, Paris Motor Show 2018, IMG 0732.jpg Compact sports car
Coupé
Roadster (convertible)
R8 Audi R8 V10 Decennium, GIMS 2019, Le Grand-Saconnex (GIMS1180).jpg Sports car
Coupé
Spyder (convertible)
Q2 2017 Audi Q2 Sport TDi 1.6 Front.jpg Subcompact crossover SUV
SUV
Q3 2019 Audi Q3 S Line 35 TFSi 1.5.jpg Compact crossover SUV
SUV
Q4 e-tron Audi Q4 e-tron concept Genf 2019 1Y7A5441.jpg Compact crossover SUV
SUV
Q5 2017 Audi Q5 S Line TFSi Quattro 2.0 Front.jpg Compact crossover SUV
SUV
Q7 2017 Audi Q7 S Line Quattro 3.0 Front.jpg Mid-size crossover SUV
SUV
Q8 2018 Audi Q8.jpg Mid-size crossover SUV
SUV
e-tron Audi e-tron, Paris Motor Show 2018, IMG 0442.jpg Compact crossover SUV
SUV
Q9 Full-size SUV
SUV
S and RS models
Main article: Audi S and RS models
S (Sport) models
S3 2017 Audi S3 (8V MY17) quattro sedan (2018-10-01) 01.jpg Small
family car
3-door hatchback
Sportback (5-door hatchback)
S4 AudiS4IAA 2015.jpg Compact
executive car
Saloon (sedan)
Avant (estate/wagon)
S5 2018 Audi S5 TFSi Quattro Automatic 3.0 Front.jpg Compact
executive car
Coupé
Cabriolet (convertible)
Sportback (5-door hatchback)
TTS Audi TTS (8S) front.JPG Compact sports car
Coupé
Roadster (convertible)
SQ5 Audi SQ5 (FY) IMG 1971.jpg Mid-size SUV
Crossover
SQ7 2017 Audi SQ7 Front.jpg Full-size SUV
Crossover
RS (Rennsport/racing sport) models
TT RS 2018 Audi TT RS Coupe.jpg Compact
sports car
Coupé
Roadster (convertible)
RS3 Audi RS 3 - Mondial de l'Automobile de Paris 2016 - 001.jpg Small family car
Saloon (Sedan)
5-door hatchback
RS4 2018 Audi RS4 TFSi Quattro Automatic 2.9 Front.jpg Compact
executive car
Avant (estate/wagon)
RS5 Audi RS5 Coupe IMG 0728.jpg Compact
executive car
Coupé
Cabriolet (convertible)
Electric vehicles
Further information: List of Audi vehicles § Concept models
Audi is planning an alliance with the Japanese electronics giant Sanyo to develop a pilot hybrid electric project for the Volkswagen Group. The alliance could result in Sanyo batteries and other electronic components being used in future models of the Volkswagen Group.[73] Concept electric vehicles unveiled to date include the Audi A1 Sportback Concept,[74] Audi A4 TDI Concept E,[75] and the fully electric Audi e-tron Concept Supercar.[76]

Self-driving cars
In December 2018, Audi announced to invest 14 billion Euro ($15.9 billion) in e-mobility, self-driving cars.[77]

Production figures
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 Q3 Q5 Q7 TT R8
1998[78] — — 143,974 271,152 — 174,867 — 15,355 — — — 13,682 —
1999[78] — — 143,505 252,514 — 162,573 — 14,636 — — — 52,579 —
2000[79] — 32,164 136,141 231,869 — 180,715 — 12,894 — — — 56,776 —
2001[80] — 49,369 131,082 308,778 — 186,467 — 11,708 — — — 39,349 —
2002[81] — 37,578 125,538 360,267 — 178,773 — 10,942 — — — 34,711 —
2003[82] — 27,323 159,417 353,836 — 168,612 — 21,748 — — — 32,337 —
2004[83] — 19,745 181,274 345,231 — 195,529 — 22,429 — — — 23,605 —
2005[84] — 10,026 224,961 337,705 — 215,437 — 21,515 — — 1,185 12,307 —
2006[85] — — 231,752 341,110 487 229,021 — 22,468 — — 72,169 23,675 164
2007[86] — — 231,117 289,806 25,549 243,842 — 22,182 — 162 77,395 56,766 4,125
2008[87] — — 222,164 378,885 57,650 214,074 — 20,140 — 20,324 59,008 41,789 5,656
2009[88] — — 206,747 282,033 84,883 182,090 — 8,599 — 105,074 27,929 22,821 2,101
2010[89] 51,937 — 198,974 306,291 111,270 211,256 8,496 22,435 — 154,604 48,937 26,217 3,485
2011[90] 117,566 — 189,068 321,045 111,758 241,862 37,301 38,542 19,613 183,678 53,703 25,508 3,551
2012[91] 123,111 — 164,666 329,759 103,357 284,888 28,950 35,932 106,918 209,799 54,558 21,880 2,241
Data from 1998 to 2010. Figures for different body types/versions of models have been merged to create overall figures for each model.
Motorsport
Audi has competed in various forms of motorsports. Audi's tradition in motorsport began with their former company Auto Union in the 1930s. In the 1990s, Audi found success in the Touring and Super Touring categories of motor racing after success in circuit racing in North America.

Rallying
Main article: Audi Sport WRC results

Walter Röhrl with his Quattro A2 during the 1984 Rally Portugal
In 1980, Audi released the Quattro, a four-wheel drive (4WD) turbocharged car that went on to win rallies and races worldwide. It is considered one of the most significant rally cars of all time, because it was one of the first to take advantage of the then-recently changed rules which allowed the use of four-wheel drive in competition racing. Many critics doubted the viability of four-wheel drive racers, thinking them to be too heavy and complex, yet the Quattro was to become a successful car. Leading its first rally it went off the road, however, the rally world had been served notice 4WD was the future. The Quattro went on to achieve much success in the World Rally Championship. It won the 1983 (Hannu Mikkola) and the 1984 (Stig Blomqvist) drivers' titles,[92] and brought Audi the manufacturers' title in 1982 and 1984.[93]

Audi Quattro S1 driven at the 2007 Rallye Deutschland
In 1984, Audi launched the short-wheelbase Sport Quattro which dominated rally races in Monte Carlo and Sweden, with Audi taking all podium places, but succumbed to problems further into WRC contention. In 1985, after another season mired in mediocre finishes, Walter Röhrl finished the season in his Sport Quattro S1, and helped place Audi second in the manufacturers' points. Audi also received rally honours in the Hong Kong to Beijing rally in that same year. Michèle Mouton, the only female driver to win a round of the World Rally Championship and a driver for Audi, took the Sport Quattro S1, now simply called the "S1", and raced in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The 1,439-metre (4,721 ft) climb race pits a driver and car to drive to the summit of the 4,302-metre (14,114 ft) Pikes Peak mountain in Colorado, and in 1985, Michèle Mouton set a new record of 11:25.39, and being the first woman to set a Pikes Peak record. In 1986, Audi formally left international rally racing following an accident in Portugal involving driver Joaquim Santos in his Ford RS200. Santos swerved to avoid hitting spectators in the road, and left the track into the crowd of spectators on the side, killing three and injuring 30. Bobby Unser used an Audi in that same year to claim a new record for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at 11:09.22.

In 1987, Walter Röhrl claimed the title for Audi setting a new Pikes Peak International Hill Climb record of 10:47.85 in his Audi S1, which he had retired from the WRC two years earlier. The Audi S1 employed Audi's time-tested inline-five-cylinder turbocharged engine, with the final version generating 441 kW (600 PS; 591 bhp).[94] The engine was mated to a six-speed gearbox and ran on Audi's famous four-wheel drive system. All of Audi's top drivers drove this car; Hannu Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist, Walter Röhrl and Michèle Mouton. This Audi S1 started the range of Audi 'S' cars, which now represents an increased level of sports-performance equipment within the mainstream Audi model range.

In the United States
As Audi moved away from rallying and into circuit racing, they chose to move first into America with the Trans-Am in 1988.

In 1989, Audi moved to International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) GTO with the Audi 90, however as they avoided the two major endurance events (Daytona and Sebring) despite winning on a regular basis, they would lose out on the title.

Touring cars
In 1990, having completed their objective to market cars in North America, Audi returned to Europe, turning first to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) series with the Audi V8, and then in 1993, being unwilling to build cars for the new formula, they turned their attention to the fast-growing Super Touring series, which are a series of national championships. Audi first entered in the French Supertourisme and Italian Superturismo. In the following year, Audi would switch to the German Super Tourenwagen Cup (known as STW), and then to British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) the year after that.

The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), having difficulty regulating the quattro four-wheel drive system, and the impact it had on the competitors, would eventually ban all four-wheel drive cars from competing in the series in 1998,[95] but by then, Audi switched all their works efforts to sports car racing.

By 2000, Audi would still compete in the US with their RS4 for the SCCA Speed World GT Challenge, through dealer/team Champion Racing competing against Corvettes, Vipers, and smaller BMWs (where it is one of the few series to permit 4WD cars). In 2003, Champion Racing entered an RS6. Once again, the quattro four-wheel drive was superior, and Champion Audi won the championship. They returned in 2004 to defend their title, but a newcomer, Cadillac with the new Omega Chassis CTS-V, gave them a run for their money. After four victories in a row, the Audis were sanctioned with several negative changes that deeply affected the car's performance. Namely, added ballast weights, and Champion Audi deciding to go with different tyres, and reducing the boost pressure of the turbocharger.

In 2004, after years of competing with the TT-R in the revitalised DTM series, with privateer team Abt Racing/Christian Abt taking the 2002 title with Laurent Aïello, Audi returned as a full factory effort to touring car racing by entering two factory-supported Joest Racing A4 DTM cars.

24 Hours of Le Mans
Further information: List of Audi vehicles § Le Mans prototypes

Audi R10 TDI
Audi began racing prototype sportscars in 1999, debuting at the Le Mans 24 hour. Two car concepts were developed and raced in their first season - the Audi R8R (open-cockpit 'roadster' prototype) and the Audi R8C (closed-cockpit 'coupé' GT-prototype). The R8R scored a credible podium on its racing debut at Le Mans and was the concept which Audi continued to develop into the 2000 season due to favourable rules for open-cockpit prototypes.

However, most of the competitors (such as BMW, Toyota, Mercedes and Nissan) retired at the end of 1999. The factory-supported Joest Racing team won at Le Mans three times in a row with the Audi R8 (2000–2002), as well as winning every race in the American Le Mans Series in its first year. Audi also sold the car to customer teams such as Champion Racing.

In 2003, two Bentley Speed 8s, with engines designed by Audi, and driven by Joest drivers loaned to the fellow Volkswagen Group company, competed in the GTP class, and finished the race in the top two positions, while the Champion Racing R8 finished third overall, and first in the LMP900 class. Audi returned to the winner's podium at the 2004 race, with the top three finishers all driving R8s: Audi Sport Japan Team Goh finished first, Audi Sport UK Veloqx second, and Champion Racing third.

At the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans, Champion Racing entered two R8s, along with an R8 from the Audi PlayStation Team Oreca. The R8s (which were built to old LMP900 regulations) received a narrower air inlet restrictor, reducing power, and an additional 50 kg (110 lb) of weight compared to the newer LMP1 chassis. On average, the R8s were about 2–3 seconds off pace compared to the Pescarolo–Judd. But with a team of excellent drivers and experience, both Champion R8s were able to take first and third, while the Oreca team took fourth. The Champion team was also the first American team to win Le Mans since the Gulf Ford GTs in 1967. This also ends the long era of the R8; however, its replacement for 2006, called the Audi R10 TDI, was unveiled on 13 December 2005.

The R10 TDI employed many new and innovative features, the most notable being the twin-turbocharged direct injection diesel engine. It was first raced in the 2006 12 Hours of Sebring as a race-test in preparation for the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans, which it later went on to win. Audi had a win in the first diesel sports car at 12 Hours of Sebring (the car was developed with a Diesel engine due to ACO regulations that favor diesel engines). As well as winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006, the R10 TDI beat the Peugeot 908 HDi FAP in 2007, and in 2008, (however Peugeot won the 24h in 2009) with a podium clean-sweep (all four 908 entries retired) while breaking a distance record (set by the Porsche 917K of Martini Racing in 1971), in 2010 with the R15 TDI Plus.[96]

Audi's sports car racing success would continue with the Audi R18's victory at the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans. Audi Sport Team Joest's Benoît Tréluyer earned Audi their first pole position in five years while the team's sister car locked out the front row.[97] Early accidents eliminated two of Audi's three entries, but the sole remaining Audi R18 TDI of Tréluyer, Marcel Fässler, and André Lotterer held off the trio of Peugeot 908s to claim victory by a margin of 13.8 seconds.

Results
Car Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
1 Position 4 3 1 1 4 3 3 3 1 6 3 3 Ret 1 5 2 3 4
2 3 1 2 2 3 1 1 1 Ret 1 Ret 2 1 2 1 1 4 3
3 Ret 2 Ret 3 Ret 5 4 Ret 4 17 1 Ret 5 3 Ret 7
4 Ret Ret 7 2 3
American Le Mans Series
Audi entered a factory racing team run by Joest Racing into the American Le Mans Series under the Audi Sport North America name in 2000. This was a successful operation with the team winning on its debut in the series at the 2000 12 Hours of Sebring. Factory-backed Audi R8s were the dominant car in ALMS taking 25 victories between 2000 and the end of the 2002 season. In 2003 Audi sold customer cars to Champion Racing as well as continuing to race the factory Audi Sport North America team. Champion Racing won many races as a private team running Audi R8s and eventually replaced Team Joest as the Audi Sport North America between 2006 and 2008. Since 2009 Audi has not taken part in full American Le Mans Series Championships, but has competed in the series opening races at Sebring, using the 12-hour race as a test for Le Mans, and also as part of the 2012 FIA World Endurance Championship season calendar.

Results
Year Manufacturer Chassis Team Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Rd4 Rd5 Rd6 Rd7 Rd8 Rd9 Rd10 Rd11 Rd12
2000 Germany Audi R8
United States Audi Sport North America 2 20 3 Ret 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1
1 6 4 3 2 Ret 1 4 2 2 1 15
2001 Germany Audi R8 United States Audi Sport North America 1 1 1 1 1 5 Ret 2 Ret Ret
2 2 2 2 2 2 1 4 1 1
2002 Germany Audi R8 United States Audi Sport North America 5 14 1 2 3 2 Ret 1 1 6
1 2 1 2 1 1 4 3 1
2003 Germany Audi R8 United States Audi Sport North America 1 2 2 1 1 7 1 2 3
United States Champion Racing 2 1 3 2 20 1 4 1 1
2004 Germany Audi R8 United Kingdom Audi Sport UK 1
2
United States Champion Racing 3 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1
2005 Germany Audi R8 United States Champion Racing 1 1 18 1 3 Ret 3 2 7 4
2 3 3 2 1 1 1 3 1 2
2006 Germany Audi R8 United States Audi Sport North America 1 3 1
R10 Ret 1 2 1 4 7 2
1 4 1 2 1 1 1
2007 Germany Audi R10 United States Audi Sport North America 4 1 7 3 2 5 5 2 2 3 1 1
1 2 12 6 23 3 3 4 2 17 3
2008 Germany Audi R10 United States Audi Sport North America 3 Ret 2 Ret 21 2 2 2 DSQ 1 2
6 1 1 7 4 1 1 1 Ret 3 1
2009 Germany Audi R15 United States Audi Sport North America 5
4
2010 Germany Audi R15 United States Audi Sport North America 1
3
2012 Germany Audi R18 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest 16
1
2
2013 Germany Audi R18 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest 1
2
European Le Mans Series
Audi participated in the 2003 1000km of Le Mans which was a one-off sports car race in preparation for the 2004 European Le Mans Series. The factory team Audi Sport UK won races and the championship in the 2004 season but Audi was unable to match their sweeping success of Audi Sport North America in the American Le Mans Series, partly due to the arrival of a factory competitor in LMP1, Peugeot. The French manufacturer's 908 HDi FAP became the car to beat in the series from 2008 onwards with 20 LMP wins. However, Audi were able to secure the championship in 2008 even though Peugeot scored more race victories in the season.[98]

Results
Year Manufacturer Chassis Team Rd1 Rd2 Rd3 Rd4 Rd5
2003 Germany Audi R8 Japan Audi Sport Japan 1
2004 Germany Audi R8 United Kingdom Audi Sport UK 2 1 1 Ret
1 2 3 1
Japan Audi Sport Japan 3 4 2 2
2005 Germany Audi R8 France Team Oreca Ret 1 2 2
2008 Germany Audi R10 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest 5 6 4 4 1
2 2 2 3 4
2010 Germany Audi R15 Germany Audi Sport Team Joest 1 3 Ret
5 3
12
World Endurance Championship
2012
In 2012, the FIA sanctioned a World Endurance Championship which would be organised by the ACO as a continuation of the ILMC. Audi competed won the first WEC race at Sebring and followed this up with a further three successive wins, including the 2012 24 Hours of Le Mans. Audi scored a final 5th victory in the 2012 WEC in Bahrain and were able to win the inaugural WEC Manufacturers' Championship.

2013
As defending champions, Audi once again entered the Audi R18 e-tron quattro chassis into the 2013 WEC and the team won the first five consecutive races, including the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans. The victory at Round 5, Circuit of the Americas, was of particular significance as it marked the 100th win for Audi in Le Mans prototypes.[99] Audi secured their second consecutive WEC Manufacturers' Championship at Round 6 after taking second place and half points in the red-flagged Fuji race.[100]

2014
For the 2014 season, Audi entered a redesigned and upgraded R18 e-tron quattro which featured a 2 MJ energy recovery system. As defending champions, Audi would once again face a challenge in LMP1 from Toyota, and additionally from Porsche who returned to endurance racing after a 16-year absence. The season-opening 6hrs of Silverstone was a disaster for Audi who saw both cars retire from the race, marking the first time that an Audi car has failed to score a podium in a World Endurance Championship race.

Results
Year Manufacturer Chassis SEB
United States SPA
Belgium LMS
France SIL
United Kingdom SÃO
Brazil BHR
Bahrain FUJ
Japan SHA
China Total
points Pos.
2012 Germany Audi R18 e-tron quattro 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 173 (209) 1st
Year Manufacturer Chassis SIL
United Kingdom SPA
Belgium LMS
France SÃO
Brazil COA
United States FUJ
Japan SHA
China BHR
Bahrain Total
points Pos.
2013 Germany Audi R18 e-tron quattro 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 207 (207) 1st
Year Manufacturer Chassis Car SIL
United Kingdom SPA
Belgium LMS
France COA
United States FUJ
Japan SHA
China BHR
Bahrain SÃU
Brazil Total
points Pos.
2014 Germany Audi R18 e-tron quattro 1 Ret 2 1 1 5 4 4 3 244 2nd
2 Ret 5 2 2 6 5 5 5
Formula E
Audi provide factory support to Abt Sportsline in the FIA Formula E Championship, The team competed under the title of Audi Sport Abt Formula E Team in the inaugural 2014-15 Formula E season.[101] On 13 February 2014 the team announced its driver line up as Daniel Abt and World Endurance Championship driver Lucas di Grassi.[102]

Year Team Chassis Driver BEI
China PUT
Malaysia PDE
Uruguay BUE
Argentina MIA
United States LBH
United States MCO
Monaco BER
Germany MSC
Russia LON
United Kingdom Total
points Pos.
2014–15 Germany Audi Sport Abt Formula E Team Spark-Renault SRT 01E Germany Daniel Abt 10 10 15 13† 3 15 Ret 14 5 Ret 11 165 3rd
Brazil Lucas di Grassi 1 2 3 Ret 9 3 2 DSQ 2 4 6
Year Team Chassis Driver BEI
China PUT
Malaysia PDE
Uruguay BUE
Argentina MEX
Mexico LBH
United States PAR
France BER
Germany LON
United Kingdom Total
points Pos.
2015–16 Germany Audi Sport Abt Formula E Team Spark-ABT Schaeffler FE01 Germany Daniel Abt 11 7 8 13 7 3 10 2 Ret 2 221 2nd
Brazil Lucas di Grassi 2 1 2 3 DSQ 1 1 3 4 Ret
Year Team Chassis Driver HKG
Hong Kong MAR
Morocco BUE
Argentina MEX
Mexico MCO
Monaco PAR
France BER
Germany NYC
United States MTL
Canada Total
points Pos.
2016–17 Germany Audi Sport Abt Formula E Team Spark-ABT Schaeffler FE02 Germany Daniel Abt Ret 6 7 7 7 13† 6 4 14† Ret 4 6 248 2nd
Brazil Lucas di Grassi 2 5 3 1 2 Ret 2 3 4 5 1 7
Year Team Chassis Driver HKG
Hong Kong MAR
Morocco SAN
Chile MEX
Mexico PDE
Uruguay ROM
Italy PAR
France BER
Germany ZRH
Switzerland NYC
United States Total
points Pos.
2017–18 Germany Audi Sport Abt Formula E Team Spark-Audi e-tron FE04 Germany Daniel Abt 6 DSQ 10 Ret 1 14 4 7 1 13 2 3 264 1st
Brazil Lucas di Grassi 17 14 Ret Ret 9 2 2 2 2 1 1 2
Formula One
Audi has been linked to Formula One in recent years but has always resisted due to the company's opinion that it is not relevant to road cars, but hybrid power unit technology has been adopted into the sport, swaying the company's view and encouraging research into the program by former Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali.

Marketing
Branding

The logo used by Audi, 1985–2009

The typeface Audi Sans (used 1997–2009)

The typeface Audi Type (used since 2009)
The Audi emblem is four overlapping rings that represent the four marques of Auto Union. The Audi emblem symbolises the amalgamation of Audi with DKW, Horch and Wanderer: the first ring from the left represents Audi, the second represents DKW, third is Horch, and the fourth and last ring Wanderer.[103][104] The design is popularly believed to have been the idea of Klaus von Oertzen, the director of sales at Wanderer – when Berlin was chosen as the host city for the 1936 Summer Olympics and that a form of the Olympic logo symbolized the newly established Auto Union's desire to succeed.[105] Somewhat ironically, the International Olympic Committee later sued Audi in the International Trademark Court in 1995, where they lost.[106]

The original "Audi" script, with the distinctive slanted tails on the "A" and "d" was created for the historic Audi company in 1920 by the famous graphic designer Lucian Bernhard, and was resurrected when Volkswagen revived the brand in 1965. Following the demise of NSU in 1977, less prominence was given to the four rings, in preference to the "Audi" script encased within a black (later red) ellipse, and was commonly displayed next to the Volkswagen roundel when the two brands shared a dealer network under the V.A.G banner. The ellipse (known as the Audi Oval) was phased out after 1994, when Audi formed its own independent dealer network, and prominence was given back to the four rings – at the same time Audi Sans (a derivative of Univers) was adopted as the font for all marketing materials, corporate communications and was also used in the vehicles themselves.

As part of Audi's centennial celebration in 2009, the company updated the logo, changing the font to left-aligned Audi Type, and altering the shading for the overlapping rings.[107] The revised logo was designed by Rayan Abdullah.[108]

Audi developed a Corporate Sound concept, with Audi Sound Studio designed for producing the Corporate Sound.[109] The Corporate Sound project began with sound agency Klangerfinder GmbH & Co KG and s12 GmbH. Audio samples were created in Klangerfinder's sound studio in Stuttgart, becoming part of Audi Sound Studio collection. Other Audi Sound Studio components include The Brand Music Pool, The Brand Voice.[110] Audi also developed Sound Branding Toolkit including certain instruments, sound themes, rhythm and car sounds which all are supposed to reflect the AUDI sound character.[111]

Audi started using a beating heart sound trademark beginning in 1996. An updated heartbeat sound logo, developed by agencies KLANGERFINDER GmbH & Co KG of Stuttgart and S12 GmbH of Munich, was first used in 2010 in an Audi A8 commercial with the slogan "The Art of Progress."[112][113]

Slogans
Audi's corporate tagline is Vorsprung durch Technik ['fo?????p??? d??ç 't?çn?k], meaning "Progress through Technology".[114] The German-language tagline is used in many European countries, including the United Kingdom, and in other markets, such as Latin America, Oceania, Africa and parts of Asia including Japan. Originally, the American tagline was "Innovation through technology", but in Canada Vorsprung durch Technik was used. Since 2007, Audi has used the slogan "Truth in Engineering" in the U.S.[115] However, since the Audi emissions testing scandal came to light in September 2015, this slogan was lambasted for being discordant with reality.[116] In fact, just hours after disgraced Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn admitted to cheating on emissions data, an advertisement during the 2015 Primetime Emmy Awards promoted Audi's latest advances in low emissions technology with Kermit the Frog stating, "It's not that easy being green."[117]

Vorsprung durch Technik was first used in English-language advertising after Sir John Hegarty of the Bartle Bogle Hegarty advertising agency visited the Audi factory in 1982.[118] In the original British television commercials, the phrase was voiced by Geoffrey Palmer.[118] After its repeated use in advertising campaigns, the phrase found its way into popular culture, including the British comedy Only Fools and Horses, the U2 song "Zooropa"[119] and the Blur song "Parklife". Similar-sounding phrases have also been used, including as the punchline for a joke in the movie Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels and in the British TV series Peep Show.

Typography
Audi Sans (based on Univers Extended) was originally created in 1997 by Ole Schäfer for MetaDesign. MetaDesign was later commissioned for a new corporate typeface called Audi Type, designed by Paul van der Laan and Pieter van Rosmalen of Bold Monday. The font began to appear in Audi's 2009 products and marketing materials.[120]

Sponsorships

Audi sponsors Bundesliga club Bayern Munich
Audi is a strong partner of different kinds of sports. In football, long partnerships exist between Audi and domestic clubs including Bayern Munich, Hamburger SV, 1. FC Nürnberg, Hertha BSC, and Borussia Mönchengladbach and international clubs including Chelsea, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, A.C. Milan, AFC Ajax and Perspolis. Audi also sponsors winter sports: The Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup is named after the company. Additionally, Audi supports the German Ski Association (DSV) as well as the alpine skiing national teams of Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, France, Liechtenstein, Italy, Austria and the U.S. For almost two decades, Audi fosters golf sport: for example with the Audi quattro Cup and the HypoVereinsbank Ladies German Open presented by Audi. In sailing, Audi is engaged in the Medcup regatta and supports the team Luna Rossa during the Louis Vuitton Pacific Series and also is the primary sponsor of the Melges 20 sailboat. Further, Audi sponsors the regional teams ERC Ingolstadt (hockey) and FC Ingolstadt 04 (soccer).[121] In 2009, the year of Audi's 100th anniversary, the company organized the Audi Cup for the first time.[122] Audi also sponsor the New York Yankees as well. In October 2010 they agreed to a three sponsorship year-deal with Everton.[123] Audi also sponsors the England Polo Team and holds the Audi Polo Awards.[124][125]

Marvel Cinematic Universe
Since the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Audi signed a deal to sponsor, promote and provide vehicles for several films. So far these have been, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home.[126] The R8 supercar became the personal vehicle for Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.) for six of these films.[127] The e-tron vehicles were promoted in Endgame and Far From Home. Several commercials were co-produced by Marvel and Audi to promote several new concepts and some of the latest vehicles such as the A8, SQ7 and the e-Tron fleet.[128][129][130]

Multitronic campaign

Audi Centre Sydney, Zetland, New South Wales, Australia
In 2001, Audi promoted the new multitronic continuously variable transmission with television commercials throughout Europe, featuring an impersonator of musician and actor Elvis Presley.[131][132] A prototypical dashboard figure – later named "Wackel-Elvis" ("Wobble Elvis" or "Wobbly Elvis") – appeared in the commercials to demonstrate the smooth ride in an Audi equipped with the multitronic transmission. The dashboard figure was originally intended for use in the commercials only, but after they aired the demand for Wackel-Elvis fans grew among fans and the figure was mass-produced in China and marketed by Audi in their factory outlet store.[133]

Audi TDI
As part of Audi's attempt to promote its Diesel technology in 2009, the company began Audi Mileage Marathon. The driving tour featured a fleet of 23 Audi TDI vehicles from 4 models (Audi Q7 3.0 TDI, Audi Q5 3.0 TDI, Audi A4 3.0 TDI, Audi A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI with S tronic transmission) travelling across the American continent from New York to Los Angeles, passing major cities like Chicago, Dallas and Las Vegas during the 13 daily stages, as well as natural wonders including the Rocky Mountains, Death Valley and the Grand Canyon.[134]

Audi e-tron
The next phase of technology Audi is developing is the e-tron electric drive powertrain system. They have shown several concept cars as of March 2010, each with different levels of size and performance. The original e-tron concept shown at the 2009 Frankfurt motor show is based on the platform of the R8 and has been scheduled for limited production. Power is provided by electric motors at all four wheels. The second concept was shown at the 2010 Detroit Motor Show. Power is provided by two electric motors at the rear axle. This concept is also considered to be the direction for a future mid-engined gas-powered 2-seat performance coupe. The Audi A1 e-tron concept, based on the Audi A1 production model, is a hybrid vehicle with a range extending Wankel rotary engine to provide power after the initial charge of the battery is depleted. It is the only concept of the three to have range-extending capability. The car is powered through the front wheels, always using electric power.

It is all set to be displayed at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi, India, from 5 January. Powered by a 1.4 litre engine, and can cover a distance up to 54 km s on a single charge. The e-tron was also shown in the 2013 blockbuster film Iron Man 3 and was driven by Tony Stark (Iron Man).

In video games
Audi has supported the European version of PlayStation Home, the PlayStation 3's online community-based service, by releasing a dedicated Home space. Audi is the first carmaker to develop such a space for Home. On 17 December 2009, Audi released two spaces; the Audi Home Terminal and the Audi Vertical Run.[135] The Audi Home Terminal features an Audi TV channel delivering video content, an Internet Browser feature, and a view of a city. The Audi Vertical Run is where users can access the mini-game Vertical Run, a futuristic mini-game featuring Audi's e-tron concept. Players collect energy and race for the highest possible speeds and the fastest players earn a place in the Audi apartments located in a large tower in the centre of the Audi Space. In both the Home Terminal and Vertical Run spaces, there are teleports where users can teleport back and forth between the two spaces. Audi had stated that additional content would be added in 2010.[needs update][136] On 31 March 2015 Sony shutdown the PlayStation Home service rendering all content for it inaccessible.[137]

See also
DKW
Horch
Wanderer (company)
Notes
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"Audi 2011 Annual Financial Report" (PDF). AUDI AG. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
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Audi AG motion picture 1994: "The Silver Arrows from Zwickau", running time approx. 49 mins.
Audi History Archived 9 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine audiusa.com
August Horch: "Ich baute Autos – Vom Schmiedelehrling zum Autoindustriellen", Schützen-Verlag Berlin 1937
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References
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External links
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"MCU" redirects here. For other uses, see MCU (disambiguation).
For a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Marvel Cinematic Universe logo.png
Marvel Cinematic Universe intertitle from Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe (2014)
Created by Marvel Studios
Original work Iron Man (2008)
Owner The Walt Disney Company
Years 2008–present
Print publications
Book(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe books
Comics Marvel Cinematic Universe
tie-in comics
Films and television
Film(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe films
Short film(s) Marvel One-Shots
Television series Marvel Cinematic Universe television series
Web series Marvel Cinematic Universe digital series
Television special(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe television specials
Games
Video game(s) Marvel Cinematic Universe video game tie-ins
Audio
Original music Music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Miscellaneous
Theme park attraction(s) Marvel-themed attractions
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The franchise also includes television series, short films, digital series, and literature. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters.

The first MCU film is Iron Man (2008), which began the films of Phase One culminating in the crossover film The Avengers (2012). Phase Two began with Iron Man 3 (2013) and concluded with Ant-Man (2015). Phase Three began with Captain America: Civil War (2016) and concluded with Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). The first three phases in the franchise are collectively known as "The Infinity Saga". The films of Phase Four began with Black Widow (2021).

Marvel Television expanded the universe to network television with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on ABC in 2013, before further expanding to streaming television on Netflix and Hulu, and cable television on Freeform. They also produced the digital series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot. Marvel Studios began producing their own television series for streaming on Disney+, starting with WandaVision in 2021 as the beginning of Phase Four. The MCU also includes tie-in comics published by Marvel Comics, a series of direct-to-video short films called Marvel One-Shots, and a viral marketing campaign for the films featuring the faux news program WHIH Newsfront.

The franchise has been commercially successful and has generally received positive reviews. It has inspired other film and television studios to attempt to create similar shared universes with comic book character adaptations. The MCU has also inspired several themed attractions, an art exhibit, two television specials, guidebooks for each film, multiple tie-in video games, and commercials.

Contents
1 Development
1.1 Films
1.2 Television
1.3 Other media expansion
1.4 Business practices
2 Feature films
3 Television series
3.1 Marvel Television series
3.2 Marvel Studios series
4 Short films
4.1 Marvel One-Shots
4.2 I Am Groot
5 Other media
5.1 Digital series
5.2 Comic books
5.3 Books
5.4 Music
6 Timeline
6.1 As depicted in the MCU
6.2 Codifying attempts
7 Recurring cast and characters
8 Reception
9 Cultural impact
9.1 Other studios
9.2 Academia
10 Outside media
10.1 Avengers Campus
10.2 Disney Wish
10.3 Other live attractions
10.4 Live-action television specials
10.5 Documentary series
10.6 Guide books
10.7 Video game tie-ins
10.8 A Mini Marvel
10.9 Other short films
11 See also
12 Notes
13 References
14 External links
Development
Films
"It's never been done before and that's kind of the spirit everybody's taking it in. The other filmmakers aren't used to getting actors from other movies that other filmmakers have cast, certain plot lines that are connected or certain locations that are connected, but I think ... everyone was on board for it and thinks that it's fun. Primarily because we've always remained consistent saying that the movie that we are making comes first. All of the connective tissue, all of that stuff is fun and is going to be very important if you want it to be. If the fans want to look further and find connections, then they're there. There are a few big ones obviously, that hopefully the mainstream audience will able to follow as well. But ... the reason that all the filmmakers are on board is that their movies need to stand on their own. They need to have a fresh vision, a unique tone, and the fact that they can interconnect if you want to follow those breadcrumbs is a bonus."

—Kevin Feige, President of Production for Marvel Studios, on constructing a shared film universe.[1]
By 2005, Marvel Entertainment had begun planning to produce its own films independently and distribute them through Paramount Pictures.[2] Previously, Marvel had co-produced several superhero films with Columbia Pictures, New Line Cinema and others, including a seven-year development deal with 20th Century Fox.[3] Marvel made relatively little profit from its licensing deals with other studios and wanted to get more money out of its films while maintaining artistic control of the projects and distribution.[4] Avi Arad, head of Marvel's film division, was pleased with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films at Sony Pictures, but was less pleased with others. As a result, Arad decided to form Marvel Studios, Hollywood's first major independent film studio since DreamWorks.[5]

Kevin Feige, Arad's second-in-command,[5] realized that unlike Spider-Man and the X-Men, whose film rights were licensed to Sony and Fox, respectively, Marvel still owned the rights to the core members of the Avengers. Feige, a self-described "fanboy", envisioned creating a shared universe, just as creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby had done with their comic books in the early 1960s.[6] To raise capital, the studio secured funding from a seven-year, $525 million revolving credit facility with Merrill Lynch.[4] Marvel's plan was to release individual films for their main characters and then merge them in a crossover film.[7] Arad, who doubted the strategy yet insisted that it was his reputation that helped secure the initial financing, resigned the following year.[5][8]

Kevin Feige helped conceive of a shared media universe of Marvel properties.
In 2007, at 33 years old, Feige was named studio chief. In order to preserve its artistic integrity, Marvel Studios formed a creative committee of six people familiar with its comic book lore: Feige, Marvel Studios co-president Louis D'Esposito, Marvel Comics' president of publishing Dan Buckley, Marvel's chief creative officer Joe Quesada, writer Brian Michael Bendis, and Marvel Entertainment president Alan Fine, who oversaw the committee.[5] Feige initially referred to the shared narrative continuity of these films as the "Marvel Cinema Universe",[9] but later used the term "Marvel Cinematic Universe".[10] Since the franchise expanded to other media, this phrase has been used by some to refer to the feature films only.[11] Marvel designated the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Earth-199999 within the continuity of the company's comic multiverse, a collection of fictional alternate universes.[12]

In October 2014, Marvel Studios held a press event to announce the titles of their Phase Three films.[13] By September 2015, after Marvel Studios was integrated into Walt Disney Studios with Feige reporting to Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn instead of Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac Perlmutter,[14] the studios' creative committee had "nominal" input on the films moving forward, though they continued to consult on Marvel Television productions, which remained under Perlmutter's control.[15][16] All key film decisions going forward were to be made by Feige, D'Esposito and Victoria Alonso.[15] Feige mentioned that Avengers: Endgame (2019) would provide "a definitive end" to the films and storylines preceding it, with the franchise having "two distinct periods. Everything before [Endgame] and everything after".[17]

In December 2017, The Walt Disney Company agreed to acquire assets from 21st Century Fox, including 20th Century Fox.[18] The transaction officially closed on March 19, 2019.[19] The acquisition saw the return of the film rights of Deadpool, the X-Men characters, and the Fantastic Four characters to Marvel Studios, which would "create richer, more complex worlds of inter-related characters and stories".[18] In July 2019, Feige announced the Phase Four slate at San Diego Comic-Con, consisting of films and television event series on Disney+.[20] In December 2020, at Disney's Investor Day, Marvel Studios provided updates to previously announced films and series, and announced additional Disney+ series and a special, which were confirmed to be part of Phase Four.[21][22] Some of the first elements previously controlled by 20th Century Fox to be integrated into the MCU were the organization S.W.O.R.D. in the Disney+ series WandaVision and the fictional country Madripoor in the series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.[23][24]

Television
Marvel Television

Former Head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb served as executive producer of every television series on ABC, Netflix, Hulu, and Freeform
In June 2010, Marvel Television was launched with Jeph Loeb as head.[25] By July 2012, Marvel Television had entered into discussions with ABC to create a show set in the MCU;[26] the network ultimately created the series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter,[27] and Inhumans, which was a co-production with IMAX Corporation.[28][29][30] In November 2013, Disney was set to provide Netflix with the live-action series Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist, leading up to the miniseries The Defenders.[31] In April 2016, Netflix ordered The Punisher, a spin-off from Daredevil.[32] By February 2019, Netflix had cancelled all of their Marvel series.[33] In January 2021, Feige said "never say never" to potentially reviving the series, but noted Marvel Studios was focused on their new Disney+ series announced at that time.[34] In April 2016, the Disney-owned cable network Freeform announced Cloak & Dagger.[35] In May 2017, Marvel announced that Runaways had received a series order from Hulu.[36] In May 2019, Marvel announced that Helstrom had been greenlit for Hulu.[37]

In October 2019, further corporate restructuring saw Feige named Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, with Marvel Television becoming part of Marvel Studios and executives of Marvel Television reporting to Feige.[38] However, in December 2019, Marvel Television was folded into Marvel Studios, with Marvel Studios taking over production of the current series at the time; no further series from Marvel Television were being considered for development.[39]

Marvel Studios
By November 2017, Disney was looking to develop a new Marvel television series for their streaming service Disney+.[40] In July 2018, Feige noted discussions had begun with Disney regarding any potential involvement Marvel Studios could have with the streaming service, since Feige felt the service was "an important thing for the company".[41] In September 2018, it was reported that Marvel Studios was developing several limited series centered on "second-tier" characters from the MCU films who had not and were unlikely to star in their own films. Each series was expected to be six to eight episodes, and would be produced by Marvel Studios rather than Marvel Television, with Feige taking a "hands-on role" in each series' development.[42] Feige noted the series being developed for the streaming service would "tell stories... that we wouldn't be able to tell in a theatrical experience – a longer-form narrative".[43] He also added that being asked by Disney to create these series "energized everyone creatively" within Marvel Studios, since they "could play in a new medium and throw the rules out the window in terms of structure and format".[44]

In July 2019, Feige announced event series as part of the Phase Four slate at San Diego Comic-Con.[20] Three additional Disney+ series for the phase were announced at D23 the following month,[45] with four more series announced in December 2020.[21][22] The Phase Four slate includes What If...?, the first animated series from Marvel Studios, and by July 2021 the studio was creating an "animation branch and mini studio" to focus on more animated content beyond What If...?.[46]

Other media expansion
In 2008, the first tie-in comic was released.[47] Quesada noted the comics would be set within the continuity of the films, but were not intended to be direct adaptions. Rather, they would explore "something that happened off screen" or flesh out something briefly mentioned. Feige was involved with the creation of the comics, with the film's screenwriters sometimes as well.[48] Marvel Comics worked with Brad Winderbaum, Jeremy Latcham, and Will Corona Pilgrim at Marvel Studios to decide which concepts should be carried over from the Marvel Comics Universe to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what to show in the tie-in comics, and what to leave for the films.[49] Marvel has clarified which of the tie-in comics are considered canonical MCU stories, with the rest merely inspired by the MCU, "where we get to show off all the characters from the film in costume and in comic form".[50]

In August 2011, Marvel announced a series of direct-to-video short films called Marvel One-Shots,[51] the name derived from the label used by Marvel Comics for their one-shot comics.[52] Co-producer Brad Winderbaum called the short films "a fun way to experiment with new characters and ideas" and to expand the MCU.[51] Each short film is designed to be a self-contained story that provides more backstory for characters or events introduced in the films.[53]

In March 2015, Marvel's Vice President of Animation Development and Production, Cort Lane, stated that animated tie-ins to the MCU were "in the works".[54] That July, Marvel Studios partnered with Google to produce the faux news program WHIH Newsfront with Christine Everhart, a series of in-universe YouTube videos serving as the center of a viral marketing campaign to promote the films and universe.[55] In December 2016, a six-part web series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot, was revealed, which debuted on ABC.com on December 13, 2016. It follows Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez on a secret mission, shortly before the start of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s fourth season, with Natalia Cordova-Buckley reprising her role.[56] In September 2019, Sony created a real version of the fictional TheDailyBugle.net website as part of a viral marketing campaign to promote the home media release of Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019). Inspired by real-world "conspiracy-pushing" websites such as that of Alex Jones, the website features J. K. Simmons reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson in a video where he speaks out against Spider-Man before asking viewers to "like and subscribe".[57][58] In December 2020, Marvel Studios announced I Am Groot, a series of photorealistic animated shorts starring Baby Groot for Disney+.[59][21][60]

Business practices

Joss Whedon was a large contributor to Phase Two, offering creative insight to all its films and launching the first MCU television series, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., while writing and directing Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Marvel Studios often puts together a "lookbook" of influences from the comics and art by Marvel's visual development department, to create a visual template for a project. These are put together at company retreats, which the studio holds every "18 months or so" to plan out and develop the phases of the MCU. These lookbooks are not always shown to directors, though, with Marvel sometimes preferring to let the director offer their own ideas first.[61] When choosing a director for a project, Marvel Studios looks for filmmakers to hire who are able to guide a film,[62] with some of their choices considered "out-of-left-field", given a director's previous work. Feige remarked, "You don't have to have directed a big, giant visual-effects movie to do a big, giant visual-effects movie for us. You just have to have done something singularly sort of awesome."[63]

The studio ensures directors are open to the idea of the shared universe and are willing to include connective material, such as Kenneth Branagh and Joe Johnston needing to include Avengers set-up scenes in Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger, respectively.[6] Marvel Studios usually has a big idea they would like to explore or build to in a project, such as Hydra infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, with it up to the filmmakers to interpret and "improv a little bit" to get there.[64] After these ideas have been developed, the creative team then begins to explore ideas happening in other future projects to see how to make any larger universe connections.[65] There was large amount of collaboration between the Russo brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely with the other Phase Three directors and writers to make sure "everything line[d] up right" for the MCU's "culmination" in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.[66]

Marvel Studios also began contracting their actors for multiple films, including signing actor Samuel L. Jackson to a then "unprecedented" nine-movie contract.[67] Feige said the studio has all actors sign contracts for multiple films, with the norm being for 3 or more, and the 9 or 12 film deals "more rare".[68] Actor's contracts also feature clauses that allows Marvel to use up to three minutes of an actor's performance from one film in another, which Marvel describes as "bridging material".[16] By the start of Phase Four, Marvel Studios was no longer contracting actors for a large number of projects, with deal lengths varying for each actor and project. Feige said the studio was looking for actors who were excited to join the franchise and appear in multiple projects without being locked into contractual obligations. He also noted that they were starting to include theme park attractions in actors' deals.[69]

In August 2012, Marvel signed Joss Whedon to an exclusive contract through June 2015 for film and television. With the deal, Whedon would "contribute creatively" on Phase Two of the MCU and develop the first television series set in the universe.[70] In April 2017, James Gunn revealed he would be working with Marvel "to help design where [the Guardians of the Galaxy characters'] stories go, and make sure the future of the Marvel Cosmic Universe is as special and authentic and magical as what we have created so far".[71] By December 2020, because of the impact COVID-19 had on theaters and film studios shifting away from theatrical releases, Marvel Studios began exploring updated contracts for actors, writers, directors, and producers to receive adjusted compensation in the event a film had to debut on Disney+ instead of in theaters. TheWrap reported it was believed the new contracts would only apply to films about to enter production, and was unclear if any adjustments would be made to contracts for films already completed but not yet released.[72]

For Marvel Television, Loeb explained that they saw themselves as producers providing support to the showrunner: "we're involved in every aspect of the production—whether it's being in the writers' room, editing on set, casting—every step of the production goes through the Marvel team to tell the best story that we can." He added that the studio is able to work on so many series across different networks and platforms because all they needed was one person from the studio working on each series to help "guide the process".[73] Actors appearing in Marvel Television series, such as Charlie Cox (Matt Murdock / Daredevil in Daredevil) and Adrianne Palicki (Bobbi Morse / Mockingbird in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), were contractually obliged to appear in a Marvel film if asked.[74][75] When developing the crossover miniseries The Defenders, showrunner Marco Ramirez consulted with the creators of all the individual Marvel Netflix series, having them read each of the scripts for The Defenders and provide insight into the individual character's world.[76]

Feature films
Main article: List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films
See also: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One, Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two, Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Three, and Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Four § Films
Marvel Studios releases its films in groups called "Phases".[77][78] Phase One consists of Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), Thor (2011), and Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), and concludes with the crossover film The Avengers (2012).[78][79] Phase Two comprises Iron Man 3 (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), and Ant-Man (2015).[78]

Captain America: Civil War (2016) is the first film of Phase Three, and is followed by Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), Captain Marvel (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019).[78] The first three phases are collectively known as "The Infinity Saga".[80]

Phase Four includes Black Widow (2021) and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), which will be followed by Eternals (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), The Marvels (2022), Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), and Fantastic Four.[81] Several television event series and a special on Disney+ are also included in the phase.[81]

Television series
Main article: List of Marvel Cinematic Universe television series
Marvel Television series
See also: Marvel's ABC television series, Marvel's Netflix television series, Marvel's young adult television series, and Adventure into Fear (franchise)
Marvel Television produced multiple television series set in the MCU across broadcast, streaming, and cable. The "Marvel Heroes" series–Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), Agent Carter (2015–2016), and Inhumans (2017)–aired on ABC; the "Marvel Knights" series–Daredevil (2015–2018), Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Luke Cage (2016–2018), Iron Fist (2017–2018), the crossover miniseries The Defenders (2017), and The Punisher (2017–2019)–streamed on Netflix; young adult series included Runaways (2017–2019) streaming on Hulu and Cloak & Dagger (2018–2019) airing on Freeform; and the Hulu series Helstrom (2020) was originally intended to be the start of a planned "Adventure into Fear" franchise.[82]

Marvel Studios series
See also: Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Four § Television series
Phase Four includes the Disney+ series WandaVision (2021), The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), the first season of Loki (2021), and the first season of the animated What If...? (2021), along with the following upcoming series: Hawkeye (2021), Ms. Marvel (2021), Moon Knight (2022), She-Hulk (2022), Secret Invasion (2022), Ironheart, Armor Wars, and a series set in Wakanda. The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022) will also be included in the phase, in addition to eleven feature films.[81]

Short films
Marvel One-Shots
Main article: Marvel One-Shots
Marvel One-Shots are a series of direct-to-video short films that are included as special features in the MCU films' Blu-ray and digital distribution releases. The films included The Consultant (2011), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (2011),[51] Item 47 (2012),[83] Agent Carter (2013),[84] and All Hail the King (2014).[85]

I Am Groot
Main article: I Am Groot
I Am Groot is a series of photorealistic animated short films for Disney+ starring Baby Groot going on adventures with new and unusual characters.[59][21][60]

Other media
Digital series
WHIH Newsfront (2015–16) is an in-universe current affairs show that serves as a viral marketing campaign for some of the MCU films, created in partnership with Google for YouTube.[55][86] The campaign is an extension of the fictional news network WHIH World News, which is seen reporting on major events in many MCU films and television series.[87]

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot (2016) is a digital series created for ABC.com and produced by Marvel Television that is a supplement to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.[56]

Comic books
Main article: Marvel Cinematic Universe tie-in comics
Multiple limited series or one-shot comics have been published by Marvel Comics that tie-into the MCU films and television series. They are intended to tell additional stories about existing characters, or to make connections between MCU projects, without necessarily expanding the universe or introducing new concepts or characters.[49][88]

Books
For books written about the MCU, see § Guide books below.
The Wakanda Files: A Technological Exploration of the Avengers and Beyond is "a collection of papers, articles, blueprints, and notes amassed throughout history by Wakanda's War Dogs" at the request of Shuri. It is organized by areas of study and covers the technological advancements throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The book, which exists in-universe, was written by Troy Benjamin and published by Epic Ink and Quarto Publishing Group. The Wakanda Files has content printed with UV ink that can be viewed with Kimoyo bead–shaped UV lights included with the book. It was released on October 20, 2020.[89]

Music
Main article: Music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Various composers have created the film and television scores of the MCU films, television series, One-Shots, and other related projects of the MCU. Original songs have also been created specifically for use in the franchise, while Brian Tyler and Michael Giacchino have both scored fanfares for the Marvel Studios logo.[90][91]

Timeline
This section refers to media released by Marvel Studios.
As depicted in the MCU
Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline
(as of Black Widow)[a]
1943–1945 The First Avenger[96]
1946 Agent Carter[84]
1947–1994
1995 Captain Marvel[99]
1996–2009
2010 Iron Man[100][96]
2011 Iron Man 2[100][96]
The Incredible Hulk[100]
A Funny Thing...[100][51]
Thor[100]
The Consultant[100][51]
2012 The Avengers[101]
Item 47[83]
Iron Man 3[96][102]
2013 All Hail the King[85]
The Dark World[101]
2014 The Winter Soldier[96][102]
Guardians of the Galaxy[103]
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2[104]
2015 Age of Ultron[96]
Ant-Man[96][105]
2016 Civil War[96][106]
Black Widow[107]
Black Panther[108]
Homecoming[109]
Doctor Strange (into 2017)[110][111]
2017 Ragnarok[112][113]
2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp[114]
Infinity War[115][116]
2019–2022
2023 Endgame[116]
WandaVision[117]
2024 The Falcon and the Winter Soldier[97]
Far From Home[98]
During Phase One of the MCU, Marvel Studios lined up some of their films' stories with references to one another, though they had no long-term plan for the shared universe's timeline at that point.[118] Iron Man 2 is set six months after the events of Iron Man,[119] and around the same time as Thor according to comments made by Nick Fury.[118] Several of Marvel's One-Shot films also occur around the events of Phase One films, including The Consultant (set after the events of Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer (set before the events of Thor),[51] Item 47 (set after The Avengers),[83] and Agent Carter (set one year after the events of Captain America: The First Avenger).[84]

Wanting to simplify the in-universe timeline,[118] the Phase Two films were set roughly in real time relating to The Avengers: Iron Man 3 takes place about six months later, during Christmas;[120][102] Thor: The Dark World is set one year later;[121] and Captain America: The Winter Soldier is two years after.[102] Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man ended the phase in 2015,[122][123] with several months passing between those films in-universe as in real life.[105] The One-Shot All Hail the King is set after the events of Iron Man 3.[85]

For Phase Three, directors the Russo brothers wanted to continue using real time, and so Captain America: Civil War begins a year after Age of Ultron,[106] with Avengers: Infinity War set two years after that.[115] However, producer Brad Winderbaum said the Phase Three films would actually "happen on top of each other" while being less "interlocked" as the Phase One films were,[124] with Black Panther and Spider-Man: Homecoming respectively beginning a week and several months after Civil War;[108][109] Thor: Ragnarok beginning four years after The Dark World and two years after Age of Ultron,[112][113] around the same time as Civil War and Homecoming;[124] Doctor Strange taking place over a whole year and ending "up to date with the rest of the MCU";[111] Ant-Man and the Wasp also set two years after Civil War and shortly before Infinity War;[114] and both Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel Vol. 2 being explicitly set in 2014,[103][104] which Feige believed would create a four-year gap between Vol. 2 and Infinity War, though the other MCU films up to that point do not specify years onscreen.[125] Following Infinity War, the Russo brothers said future films would not necessarily be set according to real time as there are "a lot of very inventive ways of where the story can go from here", with both Ant-Man and the Wasp and Captain Marvel set earlier in the timeline;[126] the latter is set in 1995.[99] Avengers: Endgame begins shortly after Infinity War and ends in 2023 after a five-year time jump.[116] It confirms dates for several of the other films, including The Avengers in 2012, Thor: The Dark World in 2013, Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014,[101] Doctor Strange around 2017,[110] and Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018 at the same time as Infinity War. Spider-Man: Far From Home begins eight months after Endgame in 2024.[98]

With Phase Four, Marvel Studios expanded into television series, which have greater interconnectivity with the MCU feature films than the series from Marvel Television.[127] Many of the properties in the Phase are set after the events of Avengers: Endgame. WandaVision is set three weeks after the events of that film,[117] and directly sets up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness;[44] Multiverse of Madness is also set after Endgame and will tie-in with the first season of Loki and Spider-Man: No Way Home as well.[128][129][130] The first season of Loki continues from the 2012 events seen in Endgame, but much of the series exists outside of time and space given the introduction of the Time Variance Authority.[92] What If...? is set after Loki's first season finale, exploring the various branching timelines of the newly created multiverse in which major moments from the MCU films occur differently.[131][93] The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is set six months after Endgame.[97] Hawkeye also takes place after during the Christmas season,[132] as do the films Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals.[133][134][135] Spider-Man: No Way Home is set after Far From Home.[136] Black Widow is set between Civil War and Infinity War, mostly taking place between the main plot of Civil War and its final scene.[107]

Codifying attempts
External image
image icon The Phase One Timeline infographic released by Marvel in May 2012[100]
The official canon tie-in comic Fury's Big Week confirmed that The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Thor all took place within a week, a year before the crossover film The Avengers. Writers Christopher Yost and Eric Pearson tried to follow the logic of the films' timeline when plotting the comic, and received "the seal of approval" from Feige and Marvel Studios on the final timeline.[137] As promotion for The Avengers, Marvel released an official infographic detailing this timeline in May 2012.[100]

When Spider-Man: Homecoming was being developed, director and co-writer Jon Watts was shown a scroll detailing the MCU timeline that was created by co-producer Eric Carroll when he first began working for Marvel Studios. Watts said the scroll included both where the continuity of the films lined-up and did not lineup, and when fully unfurled it extended beyond the length of a long conference table. This scroll was used as the basis to weave the continuity of Homecoming into the previous films, such as The Avengers.[138] This was labeled in the film with a title card stating that eight years pass between the end of The Avengers and the events of Civil War, which was widely criticized as a continuity error that broke the established MCU timeline, in which only four years should have passed.[139][140] Additionally, dialogue in Civil War indicates that eight years pass between the end of Iron Man and the events of that film, despite the established continuity being closer to five or six years.[141][142] Infinity War co-director Joe Russo described the Homecoming eight years time jump as "very incorrect",[143] and the mistake was ignored in Infinity War which specified that its events were taking place only six years after The Avengers.[142] The public response to the Homecoming mistake inspired Marvel Studios to release a new timeline for all three phases,[140] and in November 2018, a timeline, specifying dates for the events in each film released to that point, was included as part of the sourcebook Marvel Studios: The First 10 Years, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the MCU.[144]

Marvel Studios: The First 10 Years timeline from November 2018[144]
Year(s) Feature films[b]
1943–1945 Captain America: The First Avenger
2010 Iron Man
2011 Iron Man 2, Thor
2012 The Avengers, Iron Man 3
2013 Thor: The Dark World
2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
2015 Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man
2016 Captain America: Civil War
2016–2017 Doctor Strange
2017 Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War
This timeline ignores the two "eight-year" continuity errors, but also contradicts the events of Black Panther and Infinity War by placing them in 2017. Despite the latter apparent mistakes, Thomas Bacon of Screen Rant described the timeline as "the closest Marvel has yet come to making an official statement on just when the different MCU events are set", bringing "some sense of balance to the MCU continuity".[96]

In October 2020, the Marvel section of Disney+ was restructured to include groupings of the films by phase, as well as a grouping that put the films in timeline order.[145] Bacon felt the placement of Thor: The Dark World between The Avengers and Iron Man 3 and Black Panther after Captain America: Civil War in this timeline corrected "previous issues" with their placement in the November 2018 First 10 Years timeline, and was glad Disney and Marvel "recognize[d] it's possible to watch these movies in anything other than release order", "legitimiz[ing]" this viewing experience. The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Spider-Man: Far From Home were excluded since Disney did not have their distribution rights, but Bacon felt The Incredible Hulk could be viewed after Iron Man 2 since it is simultaneous with that film, Homecoming could come after Black Panther, and Far From Home could be viewed after Avengers: Endgame.[146] Julia Alexander at The Verge agreed with Bacon that it "seems like Disney finally understands how [some viewers] want to watch Marvel movies".[145]

As of the release of What If...?, the Disney+ timeline order is Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Thor: Ragnarok, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Loki, What If...?, WandaVision, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.[95]

Recurring cast and characters
Further information: Characters, Film cast members (The Infinity Saga), television series cast (Marvel Studios and Marvel Television), One-Shot cast members, WHIH Newsfront cast members, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Slingshot cast members
List indicator(s)
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in at least three MCU films/series and received main billing credit in at least two franchises.

A dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the media, or that the character's presence has not yet been confirmed.
A P indicates an appearance in onscreen photographs.
A V indicates a voice-only role.
Character Feature films Television series Short films Digital series Animation
Bruce Banner
Hulk Edward Norton[147]
Lou FerrignoV[148]
Mark Ruffalo[149] Mark Ruffalo[150] Mark Ruffalo[151]
James "Bucky" Barnes
Winter Soldier / White Wolf Sebastian Stan[152][153] Sebastian Stan[151]
Clint Barton
Hawkeye Jeremy Renner[154][155] Jeremy Renner[151]
Peggy Carter Hayley Atwell[156][27][157] Hayley Atwell[151]
Sharon Carter
Agent 13 / Power Broker Emily VanCamp[158][155] Emily VanCamp[159]
Phil Coulson Clark Gregg[160][161][159]
Carol Danvers
Captain Marvel Brie Larson[162] Alexandra Daniels[163]
Drax the Destroyer Dave Bautista[164][165] Fred Tatasciore[166]
Nick Fury Samuel L. Jackson[167][168][169] Samuel L. Jackson[151]
Gamora Zoe Saldana[170][165]
Groot Vin DieselV[171][165]
Heimdall Idris Elba[172][173]
Maria Hill Cobie Smulders[174][175] Cobie Smulders[159]
Harold "Happy" Hogan Jon Favreau[176][177] Jon Favreau[159]
Scott Lang
Ant-Man Paul Rudd[178] Paul Rudd[179][151]
Darcy Lewis Kat Dennings[180][181] Kat Dennings[159]
Loki Tom Hiddleston[182][183] Tom Hiddleston[151]
Mantis Pom Klementieff[184][185]
Wanda Maximoff
Scarlet Witch Elizabeth Olsen[186][153]
Nebula Karen Gillan[187][185] Karen Gillan[151]
Okoye Danai Gurira[188][189][190] Danai Gurira[159]
Peter Parker
Spider-Man Tom Holland[191][192]
Virginia "Pepper" Potts Gwyneth Paltrow[193][194]
Peter Quill
Star-Lord Chris Pratt[195][165] Brian T. Delaney[166]
Monica Rambeau Akira Akbar[196]
Teyonah Parris[197] Teyonah Parris[198]
James "Rhodey" Rhodes
War Machine / Iron Patriot Terrence Howard[199]
Don Cheadle[200] Don Cheadle[201] Don Cheadle[159]
Rocket Bradley CooperV[202][165]
Steve Rogers
Captain America Chris Evans[203][204] Josh Keaton[205]
Natasha Romanoff
Black Widow Scarlett Johansson[206][207] Lake Bell[208]
Thaddeus Ross William Hurt[209] Mike McGill[163]
Erik Selvig Stellan Skarsgård[210]
Howard Stark Gerard SandersP[211]
John Slattery[212]
Dominic Cooper[213] Dominic Cooper[214][157] Dominic Cooper[151]
Tony Stark
Iron Man Robert Downey Jr.[215] Mick Wingert[216]
Dr. Stephen Strange Benedict Cumberbatch[217][218] Benedict Cumberbatch[159]
Talos Ben Mendelsohn[219][201]
T'Challa
Black Panther Chadwick Boseman[220] Chadwick Boseman[151]
Thor Chris Hemsworth[221] Chris Hemsworth[151]
Vision
J.A.R.V.I.S. Paul Bettany[222][223][153] Paul Bettany[159]
Sam Wilson
Falcon / Captain America Anthony Mackie[224][153]
Wong Benedict Wong[225][226] Benedict Wong[159]
Additionally, Paul Bettany was the first actor to portray two main characters within the universe, voicing Tony Stark's artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S. in the Iron Man and Avengers films, and portraying Vision in Avengers films, Captain America: Civil War, and the miniseries WandaVision.[227][228][229][153] Prior to his death in 2018, Stan Lee, creator or co-creator of many of the characters seen in the MCU, made cameo appearances in all of the feature films and television series except Inhumans. In Iron Fist, it is revealed his on-set photograph cameo in the Marvel Netflix series is as NYPD Captain Irving Forbush.[230] His cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 sees Lee appearing as an informant to the Watchers, discussing previous adventures that include Lee's cameos in other MCU films; he specifically mentions his time as a FedEx delivery man, referring to Lee's cameo in Captain America: Civil War.[231] This acknowledged the fan theory that Lee may be portraying the same character in all his cameos,[232] with writer and director James Gunn noting that "people thought Stan Lee is [Uatu the Watcher] and that all of these cameos are part of him being a Watcher. So, Stan Lee as a guy who is working for the Watchers was something that I thought was fun for the MCU."[231][232] Feige added that Lee "clearly exists, you know, above and apart from the reality of all the films. So the notion that he could be sitting there on a cosmic pit stop during the jump gate sequence in Guardians...really says, so wait a minute, he's this same character who's popped up in all these films?"[233] Following Lee's death, Marvel Studios chose not to create any new Lee cameos in future projects.[234] NY1 news anchor Pat Kiernan has also appeared in multiple MCU films and television series as himself.[235]

Reception
Jim Vorel of Herald & Review called the Marvel Cinematic Universe "complicated" and "impressive", but said, "As more and more heroes get their own film adaptations, the overall universe becomes increasingly confusing."[236] Kofi Outlaw of Screen Rant stated that while The Avengers was a success, "Marvel Studios still has room to improve their approach to building a shared movie universe".[237] Some reviewers criticized the fact that the desire to create a shared universe led to films that did not hold as well on their own. In his review of Thor: The Dark World, Forbes critic Scott Mendelson likened the MCU to "a glorified television series", with The Dark World being a "'stand-alone' episode that contains little long-range mythology".[238] Collider's Matt Goldberg considered that while Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger were quality productions, "they have never really been their own movies", feeling that the plot detours to S.H.I.E.L.D. or lead-ups to The Avengers dragged down the films' narratives.[239]

The metaphor of the MCU as "the world's biggest TV show" was discussed again, after the release of Captain America: Civil War, by Emily VanDerWerff of Vox, who felt that film in particular highlighted Marvel's success with the model, saying, "Viewed in complete isolation, the plot of Captain America: Civil War makes little to no sense ... [but] when you think about where [Captain America] has been in earlier Marvel films ... his leeriness about being subject to oversight makes a lot more sense." VanDerWerff continued that when thinking about the MCU as a television series, many "common criticisms people tend to level at it take on a new context" such as complaints that the films are formulaic, lack "visual spark", or "shoehorn in story elements" that "are necessary to set up future films", all characteristics that "are fairly typical on television, where a director's influence is much lower than that of the showrunner", in this case, Feige. Comparing the films to the series Game of Thrones specifically, VanDerWerff noted that each solo film checks "in on various characters and their individual side stories, before bringing everyone together in the finale (or, rather, an Avengers film)", with Guardians of the Galaxy being equivalent to the character Daenerys Targaryen—"both separated by long distances from everybody else". She noted that this format was an extension of early "TV-like" film franchises such as Star Wars, as well as the format of the comics upon which the films are based. "I say all of this not to suggest that film franchises resembling TV series is necessarily a good trend", VanDerWerff concluded, "For as much as I generally enjoy the Marvel movies, I'm disheartened by the possibility that their particular form might take over the film industry ... But I also don't think it's the end of the world if Marvel continues on ... there's a reason TV has stolen so much of the cultural conversation over the past few decades. There's something legitimately exciting about the way the medium tells stories when it's good, and if nothing else, Marvel's success shows the film world could learn from that."[240]

Following the conclusion of season one of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Mary McNamara at the Los Angeles Times praised the connections between that series and the films, stating that "never before has television been literally married to film, charged with filling in the back story and creating the connective tissue of an ongoing film franchise ... [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.] is now not only a very good show in its own right, it's part of Marvel's multiplatform city-state. It faces a future of perpetual re-invention, and that puts it in the exhilarating first car of television's roller-coaster ride toward possible world domination."[241] Terri Schwartz of Zap2it agreed with this sentiment, stating that "the fact that [Captain America: The Winter Soldier] so influenced the show is game-changing in terms of how the mediums of film and television can be interwoven", though "the fault there seems to be that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had to bide time until The Winter Soldier's release", which led to much criticism.[242]

In January 2015, Michael Doran of Newsarama and Graeme McMillian of The Hollywood Reporter had a "point-counterpoint" debate in response to the first Ant-Man trailer. Doran stated, "Marvel has raised the bar sooo high that as opposed to just allowing another film to finish under the [MCU] bar, we're all overly and perhaps even eager to overreact to the first thing that doesn't clear it". McMillian responded, "at this point, Marvel's brand is such that I'm not sure it can offer up something like [the trailer] without it seeming like a crushing disappointment ... part of Marvel's brand is that it doesn't offer the kind of run-of-the-mill superhero movie that you're talking about, that it's ... at least different enough to tweak and play with the genre somehow ... The fact that there's such upset about this trailer being ... well, okay ... suggests to me that the audience is expecting something to knock their socks off." Doran concluded, "That does seem to be the point here—the expectations fans now have for everything Marvel Studios ... [and] Marvel is going to eventually falter."[243]

After seeing the portrayal of Yellowjacket in Ant-Man, the antagonist of the film, McMillian noted,

It's hardly a secret that Marvel Studios has a bit of a problem when it comes to offering up exciting characters for their heroes to fight against ... [their] villains generally fall into one of two camps. There's the Unstoppable Monster ... or there's the Professional White Guy In A Suit With An Ego ... No matter which of the groups the above villains fall into, they share one common purpose: evil. The motivations for evil likely differ—although, invariably, they fall under the umbrella of 'misguided belief in a greater good that doesn't exist'—but that really doesn't matter, because without fail, there will be so little time in the movie to actually properly explore those motivations, meaning that to all intents and purposes, the villain is being evil for reasons of plot necessity and little else ... The strange thing about this is that Marvel's comic books offer a number of wonderful, colorful bad guys who could step outside the above parameters and offer an alternative to the formulaic villains audiences have gotten used to (and arguably bored with) ... In future movies, we can only hope [they are] treated in such a way that their freak flags are allowed to fly free.[244]

Following the release of Jessica Jones, David Priest at CNET wrote about how the series rescues "Marvel from itself ... Jessica Jones takes big steps forward in terms of theme, craft and diversity. It's a good story first, and a superhero show second. And for the first time, the MCU seems like it matters. Our culture needs stories like this. Here's hoping Marvel keeps them coming."[245] For Paul Tassi and Erik Kain of Forbes, watching the series made them question the MCU, with Kain feeling that the "morally complex, violent, dark world of Jessica Jones has no place in the MCU ... right now, the MCU is holding back shows like Jessica Jones and Daredevil, while those shows are contributing absolutely nothing to the MCU."[246] Tassi went so far as to wonder what "the point of the Marvel Cinematic Universe" is, lamenting the lack of major crossovers in the franchise since the Winter Soldier reveal on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and saying that Jessica Jones is "so far removed from the world of The Avengers, it might as well not be in the same universe at all ... [I] really don't understand the point of [the MCU] if they're going to keep everything within it separated off in these little boxes".[247] Conversely, Eric Francisco of Inverse called Jessica Jones's lack of overt connections to the MCU "the show's chief advantage. Besides demonstrating how physically wide open the MCU's scope really is, Jessica Jones also proves the MCU's thematic durability."[248]

In April 2016, Marvel Studios revealed that Alfre Woodard would appear in Captain America: Civil War, having already been cast as Mariah Dillard in Luke Cage the previous year.[249] This "raised hopes that Marvel could be uniting its film and Netflix universes",[250] with "one of the first and strongest connections" between the two.[249] However, Civil War writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely revealed that Woodard would instead be portraying Miriam Sharpe in the film, explaining that she had been cast on the suggestion of Robert Downey, Jr., and they had not learned of her casting in Luke Cage until afterwards.[249] This was not the first instance of actors being cast in multiple roles in the MCU, but this casting was called more "significant", and seen by many as a "disappointing" indication of "the growing divide" and "lack of more satisfying cooperation" between Marvel Studios and Marvel Television following the September 2015 corporate reshuffling of Marvel Entertainment.[249][251]

Speaking to the 1990s setting of Captain Marvel, "the MCU's first full period piece since Phase One's Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011", Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter felt the return of younger versions of some characters introduced and killed in earlier films "open[ed] up the MCU in a whole new way and broaden[ed] the franchise's mantra of 'it's all connected'". Speaking specifically to Clark Gregg's appearance as Agent Phil Coulson in the film, Newby noted the appearance "doesn't exactly mend fences between Marvel's film and TV divisions, [but] it does strengthen the connective tissue and the sense that these characters still matter in the grand scheme of Marvel's film plans". He also hoped that continuity from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. would be maintained in Captain Marvel, especially since Coulson has dealt with the Kree in the series. Newby also added that shifting to different time periods would help Marvel Studios "sustain this cinematic universe for the next 10 years" by allowing them to repeat some of the genres previously used, as they could then feel "fresh" and have "different rules and different restraints," as well as allow them to build upon material established in the television series such as Agent Carter. He concluded,
Marvel Studios has an entire sandbox to play in, but, for necessary reasons, has largely chosen to remain in a small corner in order to ground audiences in these concepts. Now that the basis has been laid, the opportunity for exploration in both film and television lies ahead, with Captain Marvel leading the way. Wherever Marvel Studios plans to take the MCU in the future, it's refreshing to know that its past is expansive and filled with infinite possibilities.[252]

Likewise, in his review of Avengers: Endgame, Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal acknowledged the unique achievement that the Marvel Cinematic Universe had accomplished:

These are difficult times for big-screen entertainment. As the medium declines and TV grows ascendant, authentic spectacles—as opposed to lavish embellishments of smallish ideas—threaten to become a thing of the fabled past. All the more reason, then, to cherish what Marvel has achieved, even though befuddling stumbles have occurred along the way. The studio has kept the faith by smartening up most of its films, not dumbing them down, by banking on, and raking in profits from, the audience's appetite for surprise, its capacity for complexity. When the final battle comes at the end of Avengers: Endgame, it's inevitably unwieldy—every Marvel character you can think of from the past decade shows up for one more assault on cosmic evil—but thrilling all the same, and followed by a delicate coda. So many stories. So many adventures. So much to sort out before the next cycle starts.[253]

In October 2019, filmmaker Martin Scorsese openly criticized Marvel films in an interview and during a David Lean lecture in London, later expanded in an op-ed in The New York Times, asserting that these films are not cinema, but are instead the equivalent of theme park rides that lack "mystery, revelation or genuine emotional danger".[254][255][256] He also stated that such films are corporation products that have been "market-researched, audience-tested, vetted, modified, revetted and remodified until they're ready for consumption", and that the invasion of such "theme park" films in theaters crowded out films by other directors.[257] Scorsese's remarks were criticized by directors of MCU films such as Joss Whedon and James Gunn,[254] while they were defended by Francis Ford Coppola, who described the potential effect of Marvel films in the film industry as "despicable".[258] On the other hand, George Miller stated:
To me, it's all cinema. I don't think you can ghettoize it and say, oh this is cinema or that is cinema. It applies to all the arts, to literature, the performing arts, painting and music, in all its form. It's such a broad spectrum, a wide range and to say that anyone is more significant or more important than the other, is missing the point. It's one big mosaic and each bit of work fits into it.[259]

Cultural impact
Other studios
After the release of The Avengers in May 2012, Tom Russo of Boston.com noted that aside from the occasional "novelty" such as Alien vs. Predator (2004), the idea of a shared universe was virtually unheard of in Hollywood.[6] Since that time, the shared universe model created by Marvel Studios has begun to be replicated by other film studios that held rights to other comic book characters. In April 2014, Tuna Amobi, a media analyst for Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services, stated that in the previous three to five years, Hollywood studios began planning "megafranchises" for years to come, opposed to working one blockbuster at a time. Amobi added, "A lot of these superhero characters were just being left there to gather dust. Disney has proved that this [approach and genre] can be a gold mine."[260] However, with additional studios now "playing the megafranchise game", Doug Creutz, media analyst for Cowen and Company, feels the allure will eventually die for audiences: "If Marvel's going to make two or three films a year, and Warner Brothers is going to do at least a film every year, and Sony's going to do a film every year, and Fox [is] going to do a film every year, can everyone do well in that scenario? I'm not sure they can."[260]

In March 2018, Patrick Shanley of The Hollywood Reporter opined that "the key differences between a regular franchise, such as The Fast and the Furious or Pitch Perfect films, and a shared universe is the amount of planning and interweaving that goes into each individual film. Its all too easy to make a film that exists solely for the purpose of setting up future installments and expanding a world, rather than a film that stands on its own merits while deftly hinting or winking at its place in the larger mythos. In that, the MCU has flourished." He felt that Iron Man "itself was aimed at being an enjoyable stand-alone experience, not as an overall advertisement for 17 subsequent movies. That mentality has persisted through most of the MCU films over the past decade, which is all the more impressive as its roster of heroes now exceeds the two-dozen mark."[261]

DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Pictures
Main articles: DC Extended Universe and Arrowverse
In October 2012, following its legal victory over Joe Shuster's estate for the rights to Superman, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that it planned to move ahead with its long-awaited Justice League film, uniting such DC Comics superheroes as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. The company was expected to take the opposite approach to Marvel, releasing individual films for the characters after they have appeared in a team-up film.[262] The release of Man of Steel in 2013 was intended to be the start of a new shared universe for DC, "laying the groundwork for the future slate of films based on DC Comics".[263] In 2014, Warner Bros. announced that slate of films, similarly to Disney and Marvel claiming dates for films years in advance.[264] That year, DC CCO Geoff Johns stated that the television series Arrow and The Flash were set in a separate universe from the new film one,[265] later clarifying that "We look at it as the multiverse. We have our TV universe and our film universe, but they all co-exist. For us, creatively, it's about allowing everyone to make the best possible product, to tell the best story, to do the best world. Everyone has a vision and you really want to let the visions shine through ... It's just a different approach [to Marvel's]."[266]

Discussing the apparent failure of the cinematic universe's first team-up film, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, to establish a successful equivalent to the MCU, Emily VanDerWerff noted that where the MCU has a television-like "showrunner" in Feige, "the visionary behind Marvel's entire slate", the DCEU has director Zack Snyder, whose DC films "seemingly start from the assumption that people have come not to see an individual story but a long series of teases for other ones. It's like he knows what he needs to do but can't focus on the task at hand. TV certainly isn't immune to that problem, but shows that get caught up in high-concept premises and big-picture thinking before doing the necessary legwork to establish characters and their relationships tend to be canceled."[240] Subsequently, in May 2016, Warner Bros. gave oversight of the DCEU to Johns and executive Jon Berg in an attempt to "unify the disparate elements of the DC movies" and emulate Marvel's success. The two were made producers on the Justice League films, on top of Johns' involvement in several "solo" films, such as the post-production process of Suicide Squad or the writing process of a standalone Batman film.[267] After the successful release of Wonder Woman in June 2017, DC decided to begin deemphasizing the shared nature of their films, with DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson stating, "Our intention, certainly, moving forward is using the continuity to help make sure nothing is diverging in a way that doesn't make sense, but there's no insistence upon an overall story line or interconnectivity in that universe... Moving forward, you'll see the DC movie universe being a universe, but one that comes from the heart of the filmmaker who's creating them." Additionally, DC began focusing on films "completely separate from everything else, set entirely outside the" DCEU as part of a new label, with the first film centered on the Joker.[268]

20th Century Fox
Main articles: X-Men (film series) and Fantastic Four in film
In November 2012, 20th Century Fox announced plans to create their own shared universe, consisting of Marvel properties that it holds the rights to including the Fantastic Four and X-Men, with the hiring of Mark Millar as supervising producer. Millar said, "Fox are thinking, 'We're sitting on some really awesome things here. There is another side of the Marvel Universe. Let's try and get some cohesiveness going.' So they brought me in to oversee that really. To meet with the writers and directors to suggest new ways we could take this stuff and new properties that could spin out of it."[269] X-Men: Days of Future Past, released in 2014, was Fox's first step towards expanding their stable of Marvel properties and creating this universe,[270] ahead of the release of a Fantastic Four reboot film the next year.[271] However, in May 2014, Days of Future Past and Fantastic Four screenwriter Simon Kinberg stated that the latter film would not take place in the same universe as the X-Men films, explaining that "none of the X-Men movies have acknowledged the notion of a sort of superhero team—the Fantastic Four. And the Fantastic Four acquire powers, so for them to live in a world where mutants are prevalent is kind of complicated, because you're like, 'Oh, you're just a mutant.' Like, 'What's so fantastic about you?' ... they live in discrete universes."[271] In July 2015, X-Men director Bryan Singer said that there was still potential for a crossover between the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises, if reaction to Fantastic Four and X-Men: Apocalypse warranted it.[272]

Feeling that Singer's efforts in Apocalypse to establish a larger world, similar to the MCU, did not meet the standards established by Marvel, VanDerWerff noted that unlike Feige's ability to serve as "pseudo-showrunner", Singer is instead "steeped in film and the way movie stories have always been told", so "when it comes time to have Apocalypse dovetail with story threads from the earlier X-Men: First Class [directed by Matthew Vaughn], both Singer's direction and Simon Kinberg's script rely on hackneyed devices and clumsy storytelling", indicating a lack of "the kind of big-picture thinking this sort of mega franchise requires".[240] In his review of Dark Phoenix, Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal characterized the entire X-Men film series as being a "notoriously erratic franchise."[273]

Sony Pictures
Main articles: Spider-Man in film and Sony's Spider-Man Universe
In November 2013, Sony Pictures Entertainment Co-Chairman Amy Pascal announced that the studio intended to expand their universe created within the Marc Webb Amazing Spider-Man series, with spin-off adventures for supporting characters, in an attempt to replicate Marvel and Disney's model.[270] The next month, Sony announced Venom and Sinister Six films, both set in the Amazing Spider-Man universe. With this announcement, IGN stated that the spin-offs are "the latest example of what we can refer to as "the Avengers effect" in Hollywood, as studios work to build interlocking movie universes."[274] Sony chose not to replicate the Marvel Studios model of introducing individual characters first before bringing them together in a team-up film, instead making the Spider-Man adversaries the stars of future films.[260] However, in February 2015, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced that the Spider-Man franchise would be retooled, with a new film co-produced by Feige and Pascal being released in July 2017, and the character being integrated into the MCU. Sony Pictures would continue to finance, distribute, own, and have final creative control of the Spider-Man films.[275] With this announcement, sequels to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were canceled,[276] and by November 2015 the Venom and Sinister Six films, as well as spin-offs based on female characters in the Spider-Man universe, were no longer moving forward.[276][277] By March 2016, the Venom film had itself been retooled, to start its own franchise unrelated to the MCU Spider-Man.[278] A year later, Sony officially announced the Venom film to be in development, for an October 5, 2018 release,[279] along with a film centered on the characters Silver Sable and Black Cat known as Silver & Black.[280] Both projects were not intended to be a part of the MCU nor spin-offs to Spider-Man: Homecoming, but rather part of an intended separate shared universe known as the Sony's Spider-Man Universe.[280][281][282]

After Sony canceled their shared universe plans and started sharing the Spider-Man character with Marvel Studios, multiple critics discussed their failure at replicating the MCU. Scott Meslow of The Week noted the perceived flaws of the first Amazing Spider-Man film, outside of its lead performances, and how the sequel "doubles down on all the missteps of the original while adding a few of its own. …We now have a textbook example of how not to reboot a superhero franchise, and if Sony and Marvel are wise, they'll take virtually all those lessons to heart as they chart Spider-Man's next course."[283] Scott Mendelson noted that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 "was sold as less a sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man than a backdoor pilot for Spider-Man vs. the Sinister Six. …Had Sony stuck with the original plan of a scaled-down superhero franchise, one that really was rooted in romantic drama, they would have at least stuck out in a crowded field of superhero franchises. When every superhero film is now going bigger, Amazing Spider-Man could have distinguished itself by going small and intimate." This would have saved Sony "a boatload of money", and potentially reversed the film's relative financial failure.[284]

Academia
In September 2014, the University of Baltimore announced a course beginning in the 2015 spring semester revolving around the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to be taught by Arnold T. Blumberg. "Media Genres: Media Marvels" examines "how Marvel's series of interconnected films and television shows, plus related media and comic book sources and Joseph Campbell's monomyth of the 'hero's journey', offer important insights into modern culture" as well as Marvel's efforts "to establish a viable universe of plotlines, characters, and backstories."[285][286]

Outside media
Avengers Campus
Main article: Avengers Campus
After the acquisition by Disney in 2009, Marvel films began to be marketed at the Innoventions attraction in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. For Iron Man 3, the exhibit, entitled "Iron Man Tech Presented by Stark Industries", featured the same armor display that was shown at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con, with the Marks I-VII and the new Mark XLII. In addition, there was a simulator game, titled "Become Iron Man", that used Kinect-like technology to allow the viewer to be encased in an animated Mark XLII armor and take part in a series of "tests," in which you fire repulsor rays and fly through Tony Stark's workshop. The game was guided by J.A.R.V.I.S., who is voiced again by Paul Bettany. The exhibit also had smaller displays that included helmets and chest pieces from the earlier films and the gauntlet and boot from an action sequence in Iron Man 3.[287] The exhibit for Thor: The Dark World was called "Thor: Treasures of Asgard", and featured displays of Asgardian relics and transports guests to Odin's throne room, where they were greeted by Thor.[288] Captain America: The Winter Soldier's exhibit, "Captain America: The Living Legend and Symbol of Courage", featured a meet and greet experience.[289]

From May to September 2017, Disneyland Resort featured the "Summer of Heroes", which sees members of the Guardians and Avengers making appearances throughout the Disneyland Resort. Additionally, the Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Dance Off event was featured, which involved Peter Quill / Star-Lord blasting music from his boombox, along with the Avengers Training Initiative, a limited experience where Black Widow and Hawkeye "assemble a group of young recruits to see if they have what it takes to be an Avenger." Marvel-related food and merchandise was also available throughout Hollywood Land at Disney California Adventure during the "Summer of Heroes".[290]

In March 2018, The Walt Disney Company announced three new Marvel-themed areas inspired by the MCU to Disney California Adventure, Walt Disney Studios Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland. The developments will be designed by Walt Disney Imagineering in collaboration with Marvel Studios and Marvel Themed Entertainment.[291] As was established with Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!, Avengers Campus exists in its own theme park universe that is inspired by the MCU.[292][293] Being in the MCU multiverse, Avengers Campus has a shared history with the MCU proper, with a few notable exceptions being the Blip from Avengers: Infinity War did not occur, and some characters who died, such as Tony Stark, are still alive.[293]

Hong Kong Disneyland
In October 2013, the Iron Man Experience attraction was announced for Hong Kong Disneyland.[294] It is set in the Tomorrowland section of the park,[295] with the area built to look like a new Stark Expo created by Tony Stark after the 2010 one, as seen in Iron Man 2,[296] with various exhibit halls that include the Mark III armor from the films.[295][297] The area also has Iron Man and Marvel-themed merchandise items and memorabilia, plus an interactive game where guests can have the chance to try on Iron Man's armor.[298] Iron Man Experience sees guests assist Iron Man in defeating Hydra throughout Hong Kong,[295] and opened on January 11, 2017.[298]

In March 2018, The Walt Disney Company announced a new Marvel-themed area inspired by the MCU to Hong Kong Disneyland and a new attraction where guests team up with Ant-Man and the Wasp, to join Iron Man Experience.[291][299] Inspired by Ant-Man and the Wasp,[300] Ant-Man and The Wasp: Nano Battle! is an enclosed interactive dark ride that sees guests use laser powered weapons to team up with Ant-Man and the Wasp to defeat Arnim Zola and his army of Hydra swarm bots.[300][301] Ant Man and the Wasp: Nano Battle! replaces the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters ride,[300] and opened on March 31, 2019.[302]

Disney California Adventure
By San Diego Comic-Con 2016, the Tower of Terror at Disney California Adventure was set to be replaced by a new attraction, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout!. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista and Benicio del Toro all filmed exclusive footage for the attraction, reprising their roles as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax and Taneleer Tivan / The Collector, respectively.[303][304] James Gunn, director of Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequel, directed footage for the attraction and consulted on all aspects of it.[305] Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! sees visitors assisting Rocket to rescue the other Guardians from the Collector's fortress, while the attraction features randomized events during the experience and music inspired by the Awesome Mix Vol. 1 soundtrack. The attraction opened on May 27, 2017.[290]

In March 2018, The Walt Disney Company announced a new Marvel-themed area inspired by the MCU to Disney California Adventure, anchored by Mission: Breakout!, that will see characters from the MCU such as Iron Man and Spider-Man join the Guardians of the Galaxy in a "completely immersive superhero universe." The area will replace the "A Bug's Land" area, which closed in mid-2018 to start construction on the Marvel area.[291][299] Tom Holland will reprise his role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the attraction Web Slingers: A Spider-Man Adventure, in which Parker has set up W.E.B. (the Worldwide Engineers Brigade) to inspire a new generation to use technology to save the world. Riders are recruited by Spider-Man into the initiative to stop his malfunctioning Spider-Bots.[306]

Walt Disney Studios Park
In March 2018, The Walt Disney Company announced a new Marvel-themed area inspired by the MCU to Disneyland Paris' Walt Disney Studios Park. The area will include a reimagined attraction where riders will team up with Iron Man and other Avengers on a "hyper-kinetic adventure" in 2020. The park also hosted the "Summer of Super Heroes" live-action stage show from June–September 2018.[291][299]

Disney Wish
Main article: Disney Wish
In July 2021, the immersive family dining experience Avengers: Quantum Encounter at the Worlds of Marvel restaurant on the Disney Wish cruise line was announced, which would debut when the cruise begins voyages on June 9, 2022.[307]

Other live attractions
Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N.
In May 2014, the Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. (Scientific Training and Tactical Intelligence Operative Network) exhibit opened at the Discovery Times Square center. The exhibit features replica set pieces, as well as actual props from the films, mixed with interactive technology and information, crafted through a partnership with NASA and other scientists. Titus Welliver also provides a "debrief" to visitors, reprising his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Felix Blake. Created by Victory Hill Exhibits, Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. cost $7.5 million to create,[308][309] and ran through early September 2015.[310]

The exhibit also opened in South Korea at the War Memorial of Korea in April 2015,[311][312] in Paris, France, at Esplanade de La Défense a year later, and in Las Vegas at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in June 2016.[312] The Las Vegas version of the exhibit featured updated character details and corresponding science to incorporate the Marvel films that have released since the original exhibit in New York. Additionally, the Las Vegas version features Cobie Smulders reprising her role as Maria Hill to "debrief" visitors, replacing Welliver.[313]

GOMA exhibit
An art exhibit, titled Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe, was displayed exclusively at the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) from May to September 2017. The exhibit, which included "300 plus objects, films, costumes, drawings and other ephemera", featured content "from the collection of Marvel Studios and Marvel Entertainment and private collections" with "significant focus [given] to the creative artists who translate the drawn narrative to the screen through production design and storyboarding, costume and prop design, and special effects and post-production". Marvel: Creating the Cinematic Universe was also extended to GOMA's Australian Cinémathèque with a retrospective of the MCU films.[314]

Avengers: Damage Control
In October 2019, Marvel Studios and ILMxLAB announced the virtual reality experience Avengers: Damage Control. The experience would be available for a limited time starting in mid-October 2019 at select Void VR locations. Avengers: Damage Control sees players taking control of one of Shuri's Emergency Response Suits–which combine Wakandan and Stark Industries technologies–to defeat a threat alongside Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, and the Wasp. Letitia Wright, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Rudd, and Evangeline Lilly all reprise their MCU roles.[315] The experience was extended to the end of 2019.[316]

Live-action television specials
Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe (2014)
On March 18, 2014, ABC aired a one-hour television special titled Marvel Studios: Assembling a Universe, which documented the history of Marvel Studios and the development of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and included exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from all of the films, One-Shots and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and sneak peeks of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, unaired episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,[317] and Ant-Man.[318] Brian Lowry of Variety felt the special, "contains a pretty interesting business and creative story. While it might all make sense in hindsight, there was appreciable audacity in Marvel's plan to release five loosely connected movies from the same hero-filled world, beginning with the cinematically unproven Iron Man and culminating with superhero team The Avengers. As such, this fast-moving hour qualifies as more than just a cut-and-paste job from electronic press kits, although there's an element of that, certainly."[319] The special was released on September 9, 2014 on the home media for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. season 1.[320]

Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop! (2014)
In September 2014, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. executive producer Jeffrey Bell stated that in order to meet production demands and avoid having to air repeat episodes, ABC would likely air a Marvel special in place of a regular installment at some point during the first ten episodes of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s second season.[321] In October, the special was revealed to be Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!, which was hosted by Emily VanCamp, who portrays Agent 13 in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and aired on November 4, 2014.[322] The special features behind the scenes footage from Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man, as well as footage from the Agent Carter television series previously screened at New York Comic-Con.[323] Brian Lowry of Variety felt an hour for the special did not "do the topic justice" adding, "For anyone who has seen more than one Marvel movie but would shrug perplexedly at the mention of Jack Kirby or Steve Ditko, Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp To Pop! should probably be required viewing. Fun, fast-paced and encompassing many of the company's highlights along with a few lowlights, it's a solid primer on Marvel's history, while weaving in inevitable self-promotion and synergistic plugs."[324] Eric Goldman of IGN also wished the special had been longer, adding, "Understandably, the more you already know about Marvel, the less you'll be surprised by Marvel 75 Years: From Pulp to Pop!, but it's important to remember who this special is really made for – a mainstream audience who have embraced the Marvel characters, via the hugely successful movies, in a way no one could have imagined."[323]

Marvel Studios: Expanding the Universe (2019)
In November 2019, Disney+ announced that the streaming platform would include Expanding the Universe, a special that features a look at the original MCU TV series for Disney+, with interviews and concept art.[325]

Bilibili New Year's Gala (2020)
A Marvel-themed orchestra performance of an extended version of Brian Tyler's Marvel Studios theme and Alan Silvestri's theme from The Avengers took place during China's Bilibili New Year's Gala on December 31, 2020, to promote the 2021 Marvel Studios film releases.[326][327]

Documentary series
Marvel Studios: Legends (2021)
Main article: Marvel Studios: Legends
Announced in December 2020, this series examines individual heroes, villains, and moments from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and how they connect, in anticipation of the upcoming stories that will feature them in Phase Four. The series premiered on Disney+ on January 8, 2021, with the release of the first two episodes.[328] Additional episodes were released before a character's appearance in a Disney+ series.[329]

Marvel Studios: Assembled (2021)
Main article: Marvel Studios: Assembled
Announced in February 2021, each special of the documentary series goes behind the scenes of the making of the MCU films and television series with cast members and additional creatives. Marvel Studios: Assembled premiered on Disney+ on March 12, 2021, with a special for WandaVision,[330] followed by additional specials for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,[331] Black Widow, the first season of Loki, and Hawkeye.[330]

Super Women of the MCU
In June 2021, Marvel released a casting call for fans of "Marvel's strong women" to be a part of an upcoming Disney+ documentary series showcasing the women who create the MCU in front of and behind the camera.[332]

Guide books
In September 2015, Marvel announced the Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, named as a nod to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe. Each guidebook is compiled by Mike O'Sullivan and the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe team, with cover art from Mike del Mundo and Pascal Campion, and features facts about the MCU films, film-to-comic comparisons, and production stills. Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel's Iron Man, Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel's Incredible Hulk / Marvel's Iron Man 2,[333] Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel's Thor,[334] and Guidebook to the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger[335] released each month from October 2015 to January 2016, respectively.

In November 2018, Marvel and Titan Publishing Group released Marvel Studios: The First Ten Years to celebrate the first ten years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which featured cast interviews, in-depth sections on each film, and an Easter egg guide.[336] In October 2021, a two-volume book The Story of Marvel Studios: The Making of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be released, written by Tara Bennett and Paul Terry. This collection will feature a look at the evolution of Marvel Studios, personal stories from the 23-film "Infinity Saga", and interviews with cast and crew members.[337]

Video game tie-ins
Title U.S. release date Publisher Developer Platforms
Iron Man May 2, 2008 Sega
[338][339][340] Secret Level[341]
Artificial Mind and Movement[341]
Hands-On Mobile[342] PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
PlayStation 2, Wii, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable
Various mobile devices
The Incredible Hulk June 5, 2008 Edge of Reality[343][339]
Amaze Entertainment[344]
Hands-On Mobile[345] PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows, Wii
Nintendo DS
Various mobile devices
Iron Man 2 May 4, 2010 Sega Studios San Francisco[340]
High Voltage Software[346]
Griptonite Games[347] PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Wii, PlayStation Portable
Nintendo DS
Gameloft[348][349] iOS, BlackBerry
Thor: God of Thunder May 3, 2011 Sega[350][351] Liquid Entertainment
Red Fly Studio
WayForward Technologies PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Wii, Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo DS
Captain America: Super Soldier July 19, 2011 Next Level Games
High Voltage Software
Graphite Games PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Wii, Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo DS
The Avengers: The Mobile Game May 2, 2012 Gameloft[352][353][354][355] iOS, Android, Blackberry
Iron Man 3: The Official Game April 25, 2013 iOS, Android
Thor: The Dark World
– The Official Game October 31, 2013
Captain America: The Winter
Soldier – The Official Game March 27, 2014 iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Other games
Lego Marvel's Avengers January 26, 2016
March 10, 2016 Warner Bros.
Interactive Entertainment[356]
Feral Interactive[357] TT Games PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows,
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation Vita
macOS
Spider-Man: Homecoming
– Virtual Reality Experience June 30, 2017 Sony Pictures Virtual Reality[358][359] CreateVR PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift
Spider-Man: Far From
Home – Virtual Reality Experience June 25, 2019
A Mini Marvel
In February 2016, a commercial for Coca-Cola mini cans aired during Super Bowl 50. A Mini Marvel was created by Wieden+Kennedy for Coca-Cola through a partnership with Marvel, and was directed by the Russo brothers.[360][361] In the ad, Ant-Man (voiced by Paul Rudd, reprising his role) and the Hulk first fight, and then bond, over a Coke mini can.[360] Luma Pictures provided visual effects for the spot, having worked previously with the two characters in MCU films. For the Hulk, Luma redefined its previous muscular system and simulation process to create and render the character, while Ant-Man received new motion capture.[361] The Super Bowl campaign extended to "limited-edition Coke mini cans [six packs] that are emblazoned with images of Marvel characters, including Hulk, Ant-Man, Black Widow, [Falcon, Iron Man] and Captain America." Consumers had the opportunity to purchase the cans by finding hidden clues in the commercial, though "if the program goes well, Coke will consider making the cans available in stores."[360] The ad had the third most social media activity of all the film-related trailers that aired during the game,[362] and was nominated for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial at the 15th Visual Effects Society Awards.[363]

Other short films
Team Thor series
Main article: Team Thor
Team Thor is a series of direct-to-video mockumentary short films that were released from 2016 to 2018, consisting of Team Thor, Team Thor: Part 2, and Team Darryl, all written and directed by Taika Waititi. The three short films are included as special features in the MCU films' Blu-ray and digital distribution releases. The first two films follow Thor as he moves in with a new roommate, Darryl Jacobson, during the events of Captain America: Civil War,[364][365] while Team Darryl sees Darryl move to Los Angeles and gain the Grandmaster as a roommate.[366]

The Good, the Bart, and the Loki
Main article: The Good, the Bart, and the Loki
In June 2021, The Simpsons short film The Good, the Bart, and the Loki was announced, which released alongside "Journey into Mystery", the fifth episode of Loki on Disney+. The short sees Loki teaming up with Bart Simpson in a crossover that pays homage to the heroes and villains of the MCU. Hiddleston reprises his role as Loki in the short.[367]

See also
Features of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Notes
Loki and What If...? are excluded from the diagram because they occur outside of the main timeline.[92][93] Disney+'s timeline order places Loki and What If...? between Avengers: Endgame and WandaVision.[94][95]
The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Ant-Man and the Wasp are discussed in the Marvel Studios: The First 10 Years sourcebook, but their events are not included in the timeline.[144]
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Coordinates: 43.6073046°N 1.3642356°E

Airbus SE
Airbus Logo 2017.svg
Airbus Lagardère - Aéroconstellation.jpg
Lagardère production plant in Toulouse, France
Formerly Parent company:
European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company NV (2000–2014)
Airbus Group NV (2014–2015)
Airbus Group SE (2015–2017)
Subsidiary:
Airbus Industrie GIE (1970–2001)
Airbus SAS (2001–present)
Type Public (Societas Europaea)
Traded as
Euronext: AIR
BMAD: AIR
FWB: AIR
CAC 40 Component
Euro Stoxx 50 component
MDAX Component
ISIN NL0000235190
Industry Aerospace, defence
Predecessor Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, CASA, BAe
Founded 18 December 1970; 50 years ago (as Airbus Industrie GIE)
Founder
Roger Béteille
Felix Kracht
Henri Ziegler
Franz Josef Strauss
Headquarters
Leiden, Netherlands (headquarters)
Blagnac, Greater Toulouse, France (main office)[1]
Madrid, Spain (international office)
Hamburg, Germany (Operations office)
Area served Worldwide
Key people
René Obermann (Chairman)[2]
Guillaume Faury (CEO)[3]
Products
Civilian:
A220, A300, A310, A318, A319, A320, A321, A330, A340, A350, A380

Unmanned aerial vehicles
Revenue Decrease €49.91 billion[4] (2020)
Operating income Decrease -€510 million[4] (2020)
Net income Increase -€1.17 billion[4] (2020)
Total assets Decrease €110.1 billion[4] (2020)
Total equity Increase €6.46 billion[4] (2020)
Owner As of November 2020:[5]
SOGEPA (France): 11.0%
GZBV (Germany): 10.9%
Capital Group Companies (10.1%)[6]
SEPI (Spain): 4.1%
The Vanguard Group (2.19%)[6]
PRIMECAP Management Company (2.1%)[6]
Invesco (1.1%)[6]
Others: 74.0%
Number of employees 131,349 (2020[4])
Divisions
Airbus Defence and Space SAS
Airbus Helicopters SAS
Subsidiaries
Airbus S.A.S.
Airbus Group, Inc.
Airbus Corporate Jets
Airbus Operations S.A.S.
Navblue
Stelia Aerospace
Airbus Transport International
Testia
Website www.airbus.com
Airbus SE (/'??rb?s/; French: [??bys] (About this soundlisten); German: ['????b?s] (About this soundlisten); Spanish: ['ej?bus]) is a European[7] multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft in the European Union and various other countries. The company has three divisions: Commercial Aircraft (Airbus S.A.S.), Defence and Space, and Helicopters, the third being the largest in its industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries.[8]

The company's main civil aeroplane business is conducted through the French company Airbus S.A.S.,[9] based in Blagnac, a suburb of Toulouse, with production and manufacturing facilities mostly in Europe (France, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom) but also in China, the United States and Canada. Final assembly production is based in Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; Seville, Spain; Tianjin, China; Mobile, United States; and Montreal, Canada.[10] The company produces and markets the first commercially viable digital fly-by-wire airliner, the Airbus A320,[11][12] and the world's largest passenger airliner, the A380. The 12,000th aircraft, an A220, was delivered to Delta Air Lines on 20 May 2019.[13] By October 2016, the global Airbus fleet have performed more than 110 million flights, totalling over 215 billion kilometres and carrying 12 billion passengers.[14] As of 2019, Airbus is the world's largest airliner manufacturer and took the most airliner orders, surpassing rival Boeing.[15]

Airbus's registered headquarters is in Leiden, Netherlands, but its head office is located in Toulouse, France.[16] The 'SE' in its corporate name means it is a societas Europaea, which enables it to be registered as European rather than Dutch. Its shares are traded in France, Germany and Spain. The company is led by CEO Guillaume Faury and is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.

Contents
1 History
2 Products
2.1 Civilian
2.2 Consumer products
2.3 Military
2.4 Airbus aircraft numbering system
2.4.1 Engine codes
2.5 Orders and deliveries
3 Organisation
3.1 Divisions
3.1.1 Commercial aircraft
3.1.2 Defence and space
3.1.3 Helicopters
3.2 Subsidiaries
3.2.1 Joint ventures
3.3 Governance
3.4 Corporate affairs
3.5 International manufacturing presence
3.6 Financial information
4 Environmental record
5 Controversies
5.1 Government subsidies
5.2 Cluster bomb allegation
5.3 Insider trading investigation
5.4 Bribery allegations
5.4.1 South Africa
5.4.2 Saudi Arabia
5.4.3 British and French investigations
6 Innovation
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
History
Main article: History of Airbus
The current company is the product of consolidation in the European aerospace industry tracing back to the formation of the Airbus Industrie GIE consortium in 1970. In 2000, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) NV was established. In addition to other subsidiaries pertaining to security and space activities, EADS owned 100% of the pre-existing Eurocopter SA, established in 1992, as well as 80% of Airbus Industrie GIE. In 2001, Airbus Industrie GIE was reorganised as Airbus SAS, a simplified joint-stock company. In 2006, EADS acquired BAE Systems's remaining 20% of Airbus.[17] EADS NV was renamed Airbus Group NV and SE in 2014, and 2015, respectively.[18][19][20] Due to the dominance of the Airbus SAS division within Airbus Group SE, the executive committees of the parent and subsidiary companies were aligned in January 2017, but the companies were kept as separate legal entities. The holding company was given its present name in April 2017.[21]
Airbus SE
(Est. 2000, renamed 2017)
Aérospatiale-Matra
(Est. 1999)
?
Aérospatiale
(Formed 1970)

?
?
Matra
(Est. 1937)

?
?
DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG
(Est. 1989)
?
Daimler-Benz's aerospace interests

?
?
MTU München
(Est. 1934)

?
?
Dornier Flugzeugwerke
(Est. 1922)

?
?
Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
(Est. 1968)

?
?
?
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA
(Est. 1923)

?
?
vte
The logos of Airbus Industrie GIE and Airbus SAS displayed a stylised turbine symbol, redolent of a jet engine, and a font similar to Helvetica Black. The logo colours were reflected in the standard Airbus aircraft livery in each period. The EADS logo between 2000 and 2010 combined the logos of the merged companies, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (a four-ray star) and Aérospatiale-Matra (a curved arrow), after which these elements were removed and a new font with 3D shading was chosen. This font was retained in the logos of Airbus Group NV (2014–2015) and Airbus Group SE (2015–2017), then Airbus SE:

Original, for Airbus A300

2014–2017

2017–Present

Products
Civilian

The Airbus A380, the world's largest airliner
The Airbus product line started with the A300 in 1972, the world's first twin-aisle, twin-engined aircraft. A shorter, re-winged, re-engined variant of the A300 is known as the A310.

Building on its success, Airbus launched the A320, the first commercial jet to use a digital fly-by-wire control system. The A320 has been, and continues to be, a major commercial success. The A318 and A319 are shorter derivatives with some of the latter under construction for the corporate business jet market as Airbus Corporate Jets. A stretched version is known as the A321. The A320 family's primary competitor is the Boeing 737 family.[22]

The longer-range widebody products— the twin-jet A330 and the four-engine A340— have efficient wings, enhanced by winglets. The Airbus A340-500 has an operating range of 16,700 kilometres (9,000 nmi), the second-longest range of any commercial jet after the Boeing 777-200LR (range of 17,446 km or 9,420 nautical miles).[23]

All Airbus aircraft developed since then have cockpit systems similar to the A320, making it easier to train crew. Production of the four-engine A340 was ended in 2011 due to lack of sales compared to its twin-engine counterparts, such as the Boeing 777.[24]

Airbus is studying a replacement for the A320 series, tentatively dubbed NSR, for "New Short-Range aircraft".[25][26] Those studies indicated a maximum fuel efficiency gain of 9–10% for the NSR. Airbus however opted to enhance the existing A320 design using new winglets and working on aerodynamical improvements.[27] This "A320 Enhanced" should have a fuel efficiency improvement of around 4–5%, shifting the launch of an A320 replacement to 2017–2018.

On 24 September 2009, the COO Fabrice Bregier stated to Le Figaro that the company would need from €800 million to €1 billion over six years to develop the new aircraft generation and preserve the company technological lead from new competitors like the Chinese Comac C919,[28] scheduled to operate by 2015–2020.[29]

In July 2007, Airbus delivered its last A300 to FedEx, marking the end of the A300/A310 production line. Airbus intends to relocate Toulouse A320 final assembly activity to Hamburg, and A350/A380 production in the opposite direction as part of its Power8 organisation plan begun under ex-CEO Christian Streiff.[30]

Airbus supplied replacement parts and service for Concorde until its retirement in 2003.[31][32]

Product list and details (date information from Airbus)
Aircraft Description Seats Max 1st flight Production ceased
A220 2 engines, single aisle, originally Bombardier CSeries 108–130 133–160 2013-09-16
A300 2 engines, twin aisle 228–254 361 1972-10-28 2007-03-27 (561 built)
A310 2 engines, twin aisle, modified A300 187 279 1982-04-03 1998-03-27 (255 built)
A318 2 engines, single aisle, shortened 6.17 m from A320 107 132 2002-01-15 2013-12-31 (80 built)
A319 2 engines, single aisle, shortened 3.77 m from A320 124 156 1995-08-25
A320 2 engines, single aisle 150 186 1987-02-22
A321 2 engines, single aisle, lengthened 6.94 m from A320 185 240 1993-03-11
A330 2 engines, twin aisle 246–300 406–440 1992-11-02
A340 4 engines, twin aisle 239–377 377–440 1991-10-25 2011-11-10 (380 built)[24]
A350 2 engines, twin aisle 270–350 475 2013-06-14
A380 4 engines, double deck, twin aisle 555 853 2005-04-27 2021 (251 built)[33]

VIP aircraft Airbus A330 of Qatar Amiri Flight taxiing at Zagreb airport
Airbus Corporate Jets markets and modifies new aircraft for private and corporate customers. It has a model range that parallels the commercial aircraft offered by the company, ranging from the A318 Elite to the double-deck Airbus A380 Prestige. Following the entry of the 737 based Boeing Business Jet, Airbus joined the business jet market with the A319 Corporate Jet in 1997. Although the term Airbus Corporate jet was initially used only for the A319CJ, it is now often used for all models, including the VIP widebodies. As of December 2008, 121 corporate and private jets are operating, 164 aircraft have been ordered, including an A380 Prestige and 107 A320 family Corporate Jet.[34]

In September 2014, Aerion partnered with Airbus (mainly Airbus Defence)[35] to collaborate on designing the Aerion AS2, a supersonic 11-seater private business jet, hoping for a market entry in 2021.[36] Airbus was replaced with Lockheed Martin in 2017.[37]

Consumer products
In June 2013, Airbus announced that it was developing a range of "smart suitcases" known as Bag2Go for air travellers, in conjunction with luggage-maker Rimowa and IT firm T-Systems.[38][39] The cases feature a collection of built-in electronic gadgets which communicate with a smartphone app and with the IT systems of the airline, to assist the traveller and improve reliability and security of baggage handling. Gadgets include a weighing scale and a location tracker, using GPS for location tracking, RFID for identification, and a SIM card for messaging.[40][41] Since then, similar products have been announced by other companies.

Military
In the late 1990s, Airbus became increasingly interested in developing and selling to the military aviation market. It embarked on two main fields of development: aerial refuelling with the Airbus A310 MRTT (Multi-Role Tanker Transport) and the Airbus A330 MRTT, and tactical airlift with the Airbus A400M Atlas.

The first A400M in Seville, 26 June 2008
In January 1999 Airbus established a separate company, Airbus Military SAS, to undertake development and production of a turboprop-powered tactical transport aircraft, the A400M.[42][43] The A400M is being developed by several NATO members, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Turkey, and the UK, as an alternative to relying on foreign aircraft for tactical airlift capacity, such as the Ukrainian Antonov An-124 Ruslan[44] and the American C-130 Hercules.[45][46] The A400M project has suffered several delays;[47][48] Airbus has threatened to cancel the development unless it receives state subsidies.[49][50]

Pakistan placed an order for the Airbus A310 MRTT in 2008, which will be a conversion of an existing airframe as the base model A310 is no longer in production.[51] On 25 February 2008 Airbus won an order for three air refuelling MRTT aircraft, adapted from A330 passenger jets, from the United Arab Emirates.[52] On 1 March 2008 a consortium of Airbus and Northrop Grumman had won a $35 billion contract to build the new in-flight refuelling aircraft KC-45A, a US built version of the MRTT, for the USAF.[53] The decision drew a formal complaint from Boeing,[54][55] and the KC-X contract was cancelled to begin bidding afresh.[56][57]

Airbus aircraft numbering system
The Airbus numbering system is an alpha numeric model number followed by a dash and a three digit number.[58]

The model number often takes the form of the letter "A" followed by a '3', a digit, then followed normally by a '0', for example A350. There are some exceptions such as: A220, A318, A319, A321 and A400M. The succeeding three digit number represents the aircraft series, the engine manufacturer and engine version number respectively. To use an A380-800 with Engine Alliance (EA) GP7200 engines as an example; The code is 8 for series 800, 6 for Engine Alliance and engine version 1, thus the aircraft number is A380-861.

An additional letter is sometimes used. These include, 'C' for a combi version (passenger/freighter), 'F' for a freighter model, 'R' for the long range model, and 'X' for the enhanced model.

Engine codes
Code Manufacturing company
0 General Electric (GE)
1 CFM International (GE and SNECMA, now a subsidiary of Safran)
2 Pratt & Whitney (P&W)
3 International Aero Engines (P&W, R-R, MTU, Kawasaki, Mitsubishi, and IHI) (IAE V2500 for A320ceo Family)
4 Rolls-Royce (R-R)
5 CFM International (GE and SNECMA/Safran) (CFM-I LEAP-1A for A320neo Family)
6 Engine Alliance (GE and P&W) (EA GP7200 for the A380)
7 Pratt & Whitney (P&W) (PW1100G for A320neo Family)
Orders and deliveries
Aircraft Orders Deliveries In operation Unfilled
A220 644 168 168 476
A300 561 561 231 —
A310 255 255 56 —
A320ceo* 8,127 8,094 7,517 51
A320neo* 7,468 1,877 1,877 5,591
A330ceo* 1,480 1,455 1,375 25
A330neo* 331 63 62 268
A340* 377 377 214 —
A350* 915 438 438 477
A380 251 248 243 3
Total 20,409 13,536 12,181 6,873
* All models included.

Data as of 31 July 2021.[59]

Organisation
Divisions
Revenues by division, as of 2014:[60]

Commercial aircraft (69%)
Defence and Space (21%)
Helicopters (10%)
Revenues by division, as of 2018:[61]

Commercial aircraft (74%)
Defence and Space (17%)
Helicopters (9%)
Commercial aircraft

An Airbus A330neo and a Qatar Airways Airbus A350-900 at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport
Commercial aircraft generated 66% of total revenue for the group in 2013.[62] The product portfolio of such aircraft encompasses short range models such as the A320 family and the world's largest passenger airliner, the A380.

EADS Sogerma
Airbus Executive and Private Aviation
Airbus Transport International

Airbus Transport International is a cargo airline that operates a fleet of five Airbus Beluga aircraft. The belugas carry aircraft parts from factories to final assembly lines. In 2020, three Airbus Beluga XL aircraft which can carry two A350 wings rather than one Airbus A350 wing. These will slowly replace the five original belugas in the coming years.

Defence and space
The division Airbus Defence and Space was formed in January 2014 as part of the group restructuring from the former EADS divisions Airbus Military, Astrium, and Cassidian (composed of Cassidian Electronics – develops and manufactures sensors, radars, avionics and electronic warfare systems for military and security applications, Cassidian Air Systems – develops manned and unmanned aerial systems (UAVs), mission avionics, electronic defence and warning systems and Cassidian Systems – provides global security systems such as command & control, lead system integration, TETRA and TETRAPOL communication systems for public safety, industry, transportation and defence. This line of business was the first one in the world to begin field tests with TETRA Enhanced Data Service (TEDS).[63]).[64]

EADS 3 Sigma – a Hellenic company focused in the design, development, production and services provision of airborne and surface target drone systems.
The Airbus Military division, which manufactured tanker, transport and mission aircraft; Eurocopter, the world's largest helicopter supplier; Astrium, provided systems for aerial, land, naval and civilian security applications including Ariane, Galileo and Cassidian. Through Cassidian, EADS was a partner in the Eurofighter consortium as well as in the missile systems provider MBDA.

Helicopters
Airbus Helicopters, formerly known as Eurocopter, is a helicopter manufacturing and support company. See also: Airbus Helicopters, Inc.

Subsidiaries
Airbus APWorks[65]
AirBusiness Academy[66]
Airbus Group, Inc. – (previously EADS North America) the U.S. holding company for the North American activities of Airbus Group
Airbus Transport International - Cargo Airline managing the transportation of Airbus parts between different facilities.
APSYS[67]
CRISA
Dornier Consulting
NAVBLUE
Premium AEROTEC[68]
Satair
Stelia Aerospace
Testia
Joint ventures
Name Holding Description
Airbus Canada Limited Partnership[69]
75%
manufacturer of Airbus A220 aircraft
ArianeGroup
50%
manufacturer of Ariane 5 and Ariane 6 launch vehicles
ATR
50%
manufacturer of ATR 42 and ATR 72 regional aircraft
Dassault Aviation
10%
manufacturer of Dassault Rafale and Dassault Mirage 2000
Eurofighter GmbH
46%
manufacturer of Eurofighter Typhoon
MBDA
37.5%
develops and manufactures missiles
Panavia Aircraft GmbH
42.5%
manufacturer of Panavia Tornado
In September 2014 Airbus considered divesting Dassault and several other units to focus on aerospace.[70] It reduced its shareholding in Dassault Aviation to 10% by the end of 2016.

Governance
The corporate management of the Airbus SE as of July 2021:[71]

Chief Executive Officer: Guillaume Faury

Executive Committee:

Member Title
Dominik Asam Chief Financial Officer
Thierry Baril Chief Human Resources Officer
Bruno Even Chief Executive Officer Airbus Helicopters
John Harrison General Counsel
Catherine Jestin Executive Vice President Digital and Information Management
Michael Schöllhorn Chief Executive Officer Airbus Defence and Space
Julie Kitcher Executive Vice President Communications and Corporate Affairs
Philippe Mhun Executive Vice President Programmes and Services
Christian Scherer Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International
Alberto Gutiérrez Chief Operating Officer
Sabine Klauke Chief Technical Officer
Corporate affairs
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2016)
The subsidiary Airbus Middle East is headquartered in the Dubai Airport Free Zone.[72] This subsidiary opened in 2006.[73]

The subsidiary Airbus Japan K.K. (????·????????) is headquartered in the Roppongi Hills Mori Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo.[74]

International manufacturing presence

The main Airbus factory in Blagnac is located next to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport. (43°36'44?N 1°21'47?E)

Main Airbus factory in Hamburg, Germany

Main Airbus factory in Getafe, Madrid, Spain
File:Welsh Government video - Airbus Case Study, 2016.webm
The Airbus factory at Broughton, Flintshire, Wales, UK
Airbus has several final assembly lines for different models and markets. These are:

Toulouse, France (A320, A330 family, A350 family and A380)
Hamburg, Germany (A318, A319, A320 and A321)
Seville, Spain (A400M)
Tianjin, China (A319 and A320).
Mobile, Alabama, USA — Airbus Mobile (A220, A319, A320 and A321)
Mirabel, Canada (A220)
Broughton, Wales — wings construction[75]
Airbus, however, has a number of other plants in different European locations, reflecting its foundation as a consortium. An original solution to the problem of moving aircraft parts between the different factories and the assembly plants is the use of the Airbus Beluga, a modified cargo aircraft capable of carrying entire sections of fuselage. Boeing adopted a similar solution with 4 adapted 747-400s to transport the components of the 787. An exception to this scheme is the A380, whose fuselage and wings are too large for sections to be carried by the Beluga. Large A380 parts are brought by ship to Bordeaux, and then transported to the Toulouse assembly plant by the Itinéraire à Grand Gabarit, a specially enlarged waterway and road route.[76]

Airbus opened an assembly plant in Tianjin, People's Republic of China for its A320 series airliners in 2009.[77][78][79] Airbus started constructing a $350 million component manufacturing plant in Harbin, China in July 2009, which will employ 1,000 people.[80][81][82] Scheduled to be operated by the end of 2010, the 30,000 square metre plant will manufacture composite parts and assemble composite work-packages for the A350 XWB, A320 families and future Airbus programmes. Harbin Aircraft Industry Group Corporation, Hafei Aviation Industry Company Ltd, AviChina Industry & Technology Company and other Chinese partners hold the 80% stake of the plant while Airbus control the remaining 20%.[83]

North America is an important region to Airbus in terms of both aircraft sales and suppliers. 2,000 of the total of approximately 5,300 Airbus jetliners sold by Airbus around the world, representing every aircraft in its product line from the 107-seat A318 to the 565-passenger A380, are ordered by North American customers. According to Airbus, US contractors, supporting an estimated 120,000 jobs, earned an estimated $5.5 billion (2003) worth of business. For example, one version of the A380 has 51% American content in terms of work share value.

Plans for a Mobile, Alabama aircraft assembly plant were unveiled by Airbus CEO Fabrice Brégier from the Mobile Convention Centre on 2 July 2012. The plans include a $600 million factory at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley for the assembly of the A220, A319, A320 and A321 aircraft. It could employ up to 1,000 full-time workers when operational. Construction began on 8 April 2013, and became operable by 2015,[84] producing up to 50 aircraft per year by 2017.[85][86]

In February 2019, Airbus stated that production of the A380 will end in 2021 after Emirates, the biggest customer for the plane, reduced its outstanding order for 53 planes to just fourteen.[87]

Financial information
Ambox current red Americas.svg
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (June 2020)
Revenues by region, as of 2013:[60]

Europe (36%)
Asia-Pacific (33%)
North America (15%)
Middle East (9%)
Africa and Latin America (7%)
In October 2005 the British Ministry of Defence warned European politicians to stop, as it sees it, interfering in the corporate governance of EADS. The former UK Defence Procurement Minister Lord Drayson hinted that the UK government, a major customer for EADS, may withhold future contracts. "As a key customer, we see it as important for EADS to move in a direction that is free from political interference."[88]

On 4 April 2006, DaimlerChrysler announced its intention to reduce its shareholding from 30?% to 22.5?%. The company places a value of the stake at "approximately €2.0 billion."[89] Lagardère will reduce its holding by an identical amount. However, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, a unit of the French government, acquired 2.25?% of EADS. At issue as a result is the fact that the German and French shareholdings are now in imbalance.[90]

On 30 August 2006, shortly after the stock price decline caused by the A380 delivery delays, more than 5?% of EADS stock has been reportedly purchased by the Russian state-owned Vneshtorgbank.[91][92] Now its share is nearly 6?%. In December 2007, Vneshtorgbank sold EADS shares to another state-controlled bank Vneshekonombank. EADS sharers are to be delivered by Vneshekonombank to the charter capital of JSC "United Aircraft Corporation" in 2008.[93][94]

On 3 October 2006, shortly after EADS admitted further delays in the Airbus 380 programme would cost the company 4.8 billion euros in lost earnings in 2010, EADS shares, traded on the Paris arm of Euronext, were suspended after they surpassed the 10?% loss limit. Trading resumed later in the day with the one-day loss holding at 7?%.

In 2007, Dubai Holding acquired 3.12?% of EADS stock, making the Dubai buy-out fund one of the largest institutional shareholders.[95]

In 2008, EADS had arms sales equivalent of $17.9 billion, which constituted 28?% of total revenue.[96]

In April 2013, Daimler sold its shares in EADS.[97]

As of 22 June 2018, 73.6?% of Airbus Group stock is publicly traded on six European stock exchanges, while the remaining 26.4?% is owned by a "Contractual Partnership". As at 26 April 2018, the partnership is owned by SOGEPA (11.1%), GZBV (11.1%) and SEPI (4.2%). SOGEPA is owned by the French State, GZBV is majority owned by KfW, while SEPI is a Spanish state holding company.[98]

In April 2020, Airbus announced that it has cut aircraft production by a third due to the COVID-19 outbreak. According to Guillaume Faury, the company was "bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed." The recession put its survival at stake and presented the need for deep job cuts throughout all Airbus departments. 3,000 workers in France were involved in government-assisted furlough schemes.[99]

Finances[100] 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
Sales EUR billion 59.256 56.480 49.128 45.752 42.822 43.265 39.123 39.434 34.206 31.761
EBITDA in Mio. EUR 4.575 4.142 3.473 2.769 1.446 4.439 1.751 2.033 4.365 3.841
EBIT in Mio. EUR 2.661 2.186 1.696 1.231 (322) 2.830 52 399 2.852 2.432
Research and development costs EUR million 3.160 3.142 3.152 2.939 2.825 2.669 2.608 2.458 2.075 2.126
Consolidated net income EUR million 1.465 1.198 1.104 584 (722) 1.613 (433) 199 1.769 1.342
Earnings per share in EUR 1,85 1,46 1,27 0,68 (0,94) 1,95 (0,56) 0,12 2,11 1,50
Dividend per share in EUR 0,75 0,60 0,45 0,22 0,00 0,20 0,12 0,12 0,65 0,50
Free cash flow in EUR million (818) 3.472 958 2.707 585 2.559 3.354 2.029 2.413 1.614
New orders in EUR million 218.681 102.471 131.027 83.147 45.847 98.648 136.799 69.018 92.551 44.117
Order backlog at 31.12. in EUR million 686.734 566.463 540.978 448.493 389.067 400.248 339.532 262.810 253.235 184.288
Employees (number) 31.12. 144.061 140.405 133.115 121.691 119.506 118.349 116.493 116.805 113.210 110.662
accounted for under IFRS; The fiscal year ends on 31/12.
Sales of military equipment in 2012 amounted to 15.4 billion US dollars.[101]

Environmental record
Airbus has committed to the "Flightpath 2050", an aviation industry plan to reduce noise, CO2, and NOx emissions.[102]

Airbus was the first aerospace business to become ISO 14001 certified, in January 2007; this is a broader certification covering the whole organisation, not just the aircraft it produces.[103]

In association with Honeywell and JetBlue Airbus has developed a biofuel to reduce pollution and dependence on fossil fuels, claiming that this has the potential to replace up to a third of the world's aviation fuel. Algae-based biofuel absorbs carbon dioxide during growth and does not compete with food production. This alternative may be commercially available by 2030 but algae and other vegetation-based fuels are in an early stage of development and fuel-bearing algae has been expensive to develop.[104] Airbus offers delivery flights to airlines using a 10% biofuel blend in standard engines. The fuel does not cut carbon emissions but is free of sulphur emissions and demonstrates that the fuel could be used in commercial flights in unmodified engines.[105]

In September 2020, Airbus unveiled three liquid hydrogen-fueled "ZEROe" concept aircraft that it claims could become the first commercial zero-emission aircraft, entering service by 2035.[106][107]

Controversies
Government subsidies
Boeing has continually protested over "launch aid" and other forms of government aid to Airbus, while Airbus has argued that Boeing receives illegal subsidies through military and research contracts and tax breaks.[108]

In July 2004 former Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher accused Airbus of abusing a 1992 bilateral EU-US agreement providing for disciplines for large civil aircraft support from governments. Airbus is given reimbursable launch investment (RLI), called "launch aid" by the US, from European governments with the money being paid back with interest plus indefinite royalties, but only if the aircraft is a commercial success.[109] Airbus contends that this system is fully compliant with the 1992 agreement and WTO rules. The agreement allows up to 33% of the programme cost to be met through government loans which are to be fully repaid within 17 years with interest and royalties. These loans are held at a minimum interest rate equal to the cost of government borrowing plus 0.25%, which would be below market rates available to Airbus without government support.[110] Airbus claims that since the signature of the EU-US agreement in 1992, it has repaid European governments more than U.S.$6.7 billion and that this is 40% more than it has received.

Airbus argues that the military contracts awarded to Boeing, the second largest U.S. defence contractor, are in effect a form of subsidy, such as the controversy surrounding the Boeing KC-767 military contracting arrangements. The significant U.S. government support of technology development via NASA also provides significant support to Boeing, as do the large tax breaks offered to Boeing, which some people claim are in violation of the 1992 agreement and WTO rules. In its recent products such as the 787, Boeing has also been offered direct financial support from local and state governments.[111]

In January 2005 the European Union and United States trade representatives, Peter Mandelson and Robert Zoellick respectively, agreed to talks aimed at resolving the increasing tensions.[112][113] These talks were not successful with the dispute becoming more acrimonious rather than approaching a settlement.[114]

WTO ruled in August 2010 and in May 2011 that Airbus had received improper government subsidies through loans with below market rates from several European countries.[115] In a separate ruling in February 2011, WTO found that Boeing had received local and federal aid in violation of WTO rules.[116]

Cluster bomb allegation
In 2005 the Government Pension Fund of Norway recommended the exclusion of several companies producing cluster bombs or components. EADS and its sister company EADS Finance BV were among them, arguing that EADS manufactures "key components for cluster bombs". The criticism was centred around TDA, a joint venture between EADS and Thales S.A. TDA produced the mortar ammunition PR Cargo, which can be considered cluster ammunition, however this definition has since been successfully battled by EADS. EADS and its subsidiaries are now regarded as fulfilling all the conditions of the Ottawa Treaty. According to the new point of view, no product of EADS or its subsidiaries falls into the category of antipersonnel mines as defined by the Ottawa Treaty ("landmines under the Ottawa Treaty"). In April 2006, the fund declared that the basis for excluding EADS from investments related to production of cluster munitions is no longer valid, however its shareholding of MBDA means the fund still excludes EADS due to its indirect involvement in nuclear weapons production.[117]

Insider trading investigation
On 2 June 2006 co-CEO Noël Forgeard and Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert resigned following the controversy caused by the June 2006 announcement that deliveries of the A380 would be delayed by a further six months. Forgeard was one of a number of executives including Jean-Paul Gut who exercised stock options in November 2005 and March 2006. He and twenty-one other executives are[when?] under investigation as to whether they knew about the delays in the Airbus A380 project which caused a 26?% fall in EADS shares when publicised. The French government's actions were also under investigation; The state-owned bank Caisse des Dépots et Consignations (CDC) bought part of Lagardère's 7.5?% stake in EADS in April 2006, allowing that latter to partially escape the June 2006 losses.[118]

Bribery allegations
South Africa
In 2003 Tony Yengeni, former chief whip of South Africa's African National Congress, was convicted of fraud worth around US$5 billion relating to an arms deal with South Africa, in which Airbus (formerly EADS) were major players,.[119] It was claimed that Airbus had admitted that it had "rendered assistance" to around thirty senior officials, including defence force chief General Siphiwe Nyanda, to obtain luxury vehicles.[120] In March 2003, South Africa withdrew all charges of bribery against the former head of EADS South Africa,[121] and in September 2004, the prosecutor's office dismissed the bribery charges against Yengeni.[citation needed]

Saudi Arabia
In August 2012 the UK's Serious Fraud Office opened a criminal investigation into an EADS subsidiary, GPT Special Project Management Ltd, regarding bribery allegations made by GPT's former programme director, Ian Foxley. Foxley alleged that luxury cars were bought for senior Saudis, and that millions of pounds sterling were paid to mysterious Cayman Islands companies, possibly to secure a £2 billion contract to renew the Saudi Arabian National Guard's military telecommunications network.[122] Foxley's allegations were supported by two other GPT employees.[123] The later agreement between Airbus and the SFO on 31 January 2020 excluded settlement of this case.[124]

British and French investigations
The French National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF), the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) had been jointly investigating irregularities in Airbus marketing practices since 2016, in particular the activities of agents Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Indonesia and Austria,[a] but also China, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Kuwait, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam, India, Colombia and Nepal.[124]

In July 2016, SFO opened a criminal investigation into "suspicions of fraud, bribes and corruption" after Airbus informed British authorities of a failure to disclose the role played by some intermediaries facilitating the sale of aircraft. Airbus was required to provide this information in order to benefit from export credits, which the British, French and German governments had suspended. In March 2017, the PNF subsequently opened a preliminary investigation into "suspicions of fraud and corruption in civil aviation activities" in cooperation with the SFO.[124]

The allegations included that from 2012 onwards Airbus was responsible for recruiting and remunerating intermediaries to influence the award of civil and military contracts. Payments worth hundreds of millions of euros in alleged secret commissions were made and numerous sales including in Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, Philippines, Indonesia, Austria, China and Mauritius were under suspicion of bribery.[125][verification needed][126]

The investigation focussed on the Airbus, Strategy and Marketing Organization (SMO), the department responsible for negotiating sales contracts and which, La Tribune reported as having "a network and an incredible influence around the world." Directed successively by Jean-Paul Gut and Marwan Lahoud, the SMO was dissolved in 2016 under the new executive director, Thomas Enders, as part of a “clean hands” operation.[127]

In 2014, in a case referred to as the Kazakhgate affair, a search at Airbus Helicopters by French authorities found emails confirming that Airbus had agreed in principle to pay €12 million in pots of wine to the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan to facilitate the sale of helicopters. Officers from the Central Anti-Corruption Office (OCLCIFF) then searched the home of Marwan Lahoud on 8 February 2016.[b] This revealed that two Turkish intermediaries had claimed payment of commissions due in connection with the sale of 160 aircraft to China valued at US$10 billion. A message by Lahoud suggested that the commissions could reach US$250 million. The SMO was to conceal these commissions as false invoices for a fictitious Caspian pipeline project.[c]

In January 2020, French, British and American courts validated three agreements between Airbus and the PNF,[128] the UK SFO,[124][129] and the US DoJ.[130][131] Airbus recognised the charges and agreed to pay fines of €3.6 billion in France, €984 million in the United Kingdom and €526 million in the United States. The penalties were the highest ever issued by the French and British bodies.[132][133][134]

These settlements close the prosecution of Airbus regarding the Kazakhstan case but not allegations of misconduct in Saudi Arabia, China and Turkey, which Airbus denies.[135] Airbus managers may still be pursued as private individuals.[d]

Innovation
In 2015 Airbus launches an accelerator program to infuse startup and intrapreneurial innovations called Airbus BizLab.[136]

See also
Airbus Training Centre Europe
Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
Airbus affair
Boeing
Bombardier Aerospace
Comac
Competition between Airbus and Boeing
Competition in the regional jet market
Embraer
Liebherr Aerospace
United Aircraft Corporation
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Congressional Research Service (1992). Airbus Industrie: An Economic and Trade Perspective. U.S. Library of Congress.
Heppenheimer, T.A. (1995). Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation. John Wiley. ISBN 0-471-19694-0.
Lynn, Matthew (1997). Birds of Prey: Boeing vs. Airbus, a Battle for the Skies. Four Walls Eight Windows. ISBN 1-56858-107-6.
McGuire, Steven (1997). Airbus Industrie: Conflict and Cooperation in U.S.E.C. Trade Relations. St. Martin's Press.
McIntyre, Ian (1982). Dogfight: The Transatlantic Battle Over Airbus. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-94278-3.
Thornton, David Weldon (1995). Airbus Industrie: The Politics of an International Industrial Collaboration. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-12441-4.
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Porsche Taycan
Porsche Taycan 4S IMG 3526.jpg
Overview
Manufacturer Porsche
Production 2019–present
Assembly Germany: Stuttgart
Designer
Michael Mauer[1]
Body and chassis
Class Executive car (E)
Body style
4-door sedan/saloon
5-door shooting brake (Taycan Cross Turismo)
Layout Rear-motor, rear-wheel drive (Taycan)
Dual-motor, all-wheel drive (Taycan 4S,Turbo & Turbo S)
Platform J1
Related Audi e-tron GT
Powertrain
Engine 2× AC synchronous electric motors, front and rear axle powered by e-tron
Transmission
1-speed direct-drive (front 8.05:1)
2-speed automatic (rear; 16:1 and 8.05:1)[2]
Battery
79.2 kWh (71.0 kWh usable) liquid-cooled lithium-ion
or 93.4 kWh (83.7 kWh usable) liquid-cooled lithium-ion
Electric range 206.9 to 287.7 mi (333 to 463 km) (WLTP combined), 201 mi (323.5 km) (EPA)
Plug-in charging
270 kW (800 volt) DC
11 kW (230/240 volt 3 phase)
9.6 kW (230/240 volt single phase) AC
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,900 mm (114.2 in)
Length 4,963 mm (195.4 in)[3]
Width 1,966 mm (77.4 in)
Height 1,378–1,381 mm (54.3–54.4 in)
Kerb weight 2,140–2,305 kg (4,717.9–5,081.7 lb)
The Porsche Taycan is an all-electric car made by German automobile manufacturer Porsche. The concept version of the Taycan, named the Porsche Mission E, debuted at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show.[4] The Taycan was revealed fully production-ready at the 2019 Frankfurt Motor Show.[3] As Porsche's first series production electric car,[4] it is sold in several variants at different performance levels, and may spawn further derivatives in future models.[5] More than 20,000 Taycans were delivered in 2020, its debut sale year, representing 7.4% of the total Porsche volume.[6]

Contents
1 Nomenclature
2 Design
2.1 Taycan Cross Turismo
3 Specifications
4 Models
5 Porsche Mission E
6 Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo
7 References
8 External links
Nomenclature
The name "Taycan" roughly translates from Turkish as "lively young horse", in reference to the steed of the Stuttgart coat of arms on the Porsche crest.[7][8]

Porsche named the high performance models Turbo and Turbo S despite the absence of a turbocharger, following the tradition set by high performance Porsche derivatives with internal combustion engines.[9]

Design

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
The Taycan's interior features Porsche's first fully digital instrumentation, with up to four digital displays, including a curved, free-standing 16.8-inch configurable driver's display. A 280 mm (10.9 in) screen to the right of the instrument cluster is the car's infotainment center. An optional screen to the right of the infotainment screen allows the front passenger to customise the infotainment system. On the centre console, an 210 mm (8.4 in) portrait-oriented, touchpad-controlled screen shows the powertrain's status and advises the driver on using the car's power efficiently. In contrast with the all-digital layout, the dashboard features the classic Porsche clock at its top.

The exterior styling, by former Porsche Exterior Designer Mitja Borkert, is strongly influenced by the Mission E concept car, retaining most of its design elements except the "suicide doors" and B pillars. Design features of the Taycan include a retractable rear spoiler, retractable door handles, and an advanced regenerative braking system. Taking full advantage of its drivetrain layout, the Taycan combines the fundamental short-nosed front proportions of traditional Porsches with the stretched proportions of modern front-engine models towards the rear, providing clear design links to existing models. The front features four-point LED daytime running headlamps. At the rear, the car has a short notchback-style boot lid, housing a full-width light band serving as taillights and turn signals and providing access to one of two luggage compartments. The other compartment is under the bonnet, with a claimed capacity of nearly 100 litres. The Taycan Turbo and Turbo S models include carbon-fibre trim and 20-inch wheels.

Rear view

Interior

Taycan Cross Turismo
[icon]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2021)

Taycan Cross Turismo

Taycan Cross Turismo rear view

The Taycan Cross Turismo is a lifted, shooting brake/wagon version of the Taycan with additional body cladding, rugged black plastic trim, and other SUV-like features (Off-road Design package and 'Gravel' drive mode).

Specifications

The Taycan's J1 platform
The Taycan's body is mainly steel and aluminium joined by different bonding techniques. The body's B pillars, side roof frame and seat cross member are made from hot-formed steel, while the bulkhead cross member is made from boron steel to improve safety. The shock absorber mounts, axle mounts and rear side members are forged aluminum; and all body panels, except the front and rear bumpers, are also made from aluminum to reduce weight. 37% of the car is aluminium.[10]

The Taycan uses a new battery-electric all-wheel-drive drivetrain with a permanent-magnet synchronous motor on each axle. At the front, power is sent to the wheels through a single-speed gearbox (8.05:1 gear ratio); and at the rear, through a two-speed transmission and a limited slip differential. The gearbox has a short planetary first gear (15.5:1) providing maximum acceleration, and a long-ratio second gear (8.05:1) delivering top speed and efficiency.[2] Power comes from a 93 kWh 630 kg (1,389 lb) lithium-ion battery pack that doubles as a structural chassis component and keeps the center of gravity low.[2] To increase rear-seat legroom, recesses called "foot garages" have been incorporated in the battery pack. The 723-volt pack (835 volt full, 610 volt empty) has 33 modules with 12 LG Chem pouch cells each, for 396 cells in total.[2][11]

The EPA lists the Taycan 4S' range at 203 miles with a consumption of 49 kWh/100 miles.[12] However, the car's range depends on how it is driven and what driving mode is selected. There are five driving modes: Sport, Sport Plus, Normal, Range, and Individual. The Range mode maximizes range with lowest power consumption; and Individual lets the driver customise various settings.[13] Regenerative braking provides up to 265 kW,[14] yielding an acceleration of 0.39 G/-3.83 m/s^2.[2]

Porsche has developed an 800-volt charging system specifically for the Taycan. According to manufacturer estimates, the battery pack can be charged from 5% to 80% in 22.5 minutes in ideal situations, using a DC fast charger with 270 kW of power. Charge times depend on weather conditions and infrastructure. When purchasing a Taycan, owners receive three years free access to the speed-charging infrastructure of IONITY, Porsche's joint venture partner.[15]

To reduce charge times at both hot and cold temperatures, the battery can be thermally preconditioned using a charging planner. Owners set a departure time in the planner, and the car automatically warms or cools the battery for optimal charging times. A charging dock and mobile charger, supplied with the car for home charging, utilize a 9.6-kW connector that charges the car in 11 hours. An energy manager, which can also be installed in a home's circuit panel, can manage the house's power flow; provide cost-optimising charging using solar power; and provide blackout protection by reducing the charge to the car if household appliances such as fridges or dryers turn on and exceed the panel's power threshold.[16]

The Taycan Turbo has a drag coefficient of Cd=0.22, which the manufacturer claims is the lowest of any current Porsche model. The Turbo S model has a slightly higher drag coefficient of Cd=0.25.[17][16] The frontal area is 2.33 m², with a resulting drag area of 0.513 m² and 0.583 m² for the Turbo and Turbo S, respectively.[18][19][20]

Car and Driver did 15 consecutive quarter-mile runs in both the Taycan Turbo S and the 2020 Tesla Model S Performance to evaluate Porsche's claim that their car's performance holds up even as the battery discharges. Porsche's results during the test did not deteriorate significantly, while the Tesla's got considerably worse.[21]

Models
The Taycan is currently offered as a saloon model, but an estate model, the Taycan Cross Turismo, will soon be offered. Other planned variants include a two-door coupe and convertible models, which will enter production based on market demand. Models introduced at launch include the high-performance AWD Turbo and Turbo S.[13] The Taycan 4S, a mid-range AWD model with two battery sizes, was added in October 2019.[22] The base RWD model was first announced in July 2020 for China,[23] and then for Europe and US in January 2021.[24]

Model Years Power Torque Weight (DIN) 0–60 mph (97 km/h) 0–100 km/h (62 mph) Top speed WLTP Range[25] EPA Range[25]
Taycan (79 kWh)[24] 2020– 300 kW (408 PS; 402 hp) 344 N·m (254 lb·ft) 2,050 kg (4,519 lb) 5.1 seconds 5.4 seconds 230 km/h (143mph) 431 km (268 mi) TBA
Taycan (performance battery plus)(93 kWh)[24] 2020– 350 kW (476 PS; 469 hp) 357 N·m (263 lb·ft) 2,130 kg (4,696 lb) 5.1 seconds 5.4 seconds 230 km/h (143mph) 484 km (301 mi) TBA
Taycan 4S (79 kWh)[26] 2020– 390 kW (530 PS; 523 hp) 640 N·m (472 lb·ft) 2,140 kg (4,718 lb) 3.8 seconds 4.0 seconds 250 km/h (155 mph) 408 km (254 mi) 199 mi (320 km)
Taycan 4S (performance battery plus) (93 kWh)[26] 2020– 420 kW (571 PS; 563 hp) 650 N·m (479 lb·ft) 2,220 kg (4,894 lb) 3.8 seconds 4.0 seconds 250 km/h (155 mph) 464 km (288 mi) 227 mi (365 km)
Taycan Turbo (93 kWh)[27][28] 2020– 500 kW (680 PS; 671 hp) 850 N·m (627 lb·ft) 2,305 kg (5,082 lb) 3.0 seconds 3.2 seconds 260 km/h (162 mph) 452 km (281 mi) 212 mi (341 km)
Taycan Turbo S (93 kWh)[27][28] 2020– 560 kW (761 PS; 751 hp) 1,050 N·m (774 lb·ft) 2,295 kg (5,060 lb) 2.6 seconds 2.8 seconds 260 km/h (162 mph) 416 km (258 mi) 201 mi (323 km)
Notes: These power, torque and acceleration values were achieved with Overboost Power with Launch Control mode. Otherwise, the maximum power is 240 kW (326 PS; 322 hp) for the base model, 280 kW (381 PS; 375 hp) for the base with 93 kWh Performance Battery Plus, 320 kW (435 PS; 429 hp) for the 4S, 360 kW (489 PS; 483 hp) for the 4S 93 kWh Performance Battery Plus, and 460 kW (625 PS; 617 hp) for the Turbo and Turbo S models.[28]

Porsche Mission E
The concept car which previewed the Taycan was the Porsche Mission E, unveiled at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show. It is powered by two PSM permanently excited synchronous electric motors, one on each axle, with all four wheels individually controlled by the Porsche Torque Vectoring system. The motors were projected to be rated at more than 440 kW (598 PS; 590 hp);[29] and the car had projected performance figures of 0–100 km/h in under 3.5 seconds, 0–200 km/h in under 12 seconds, and a top speed of over 250 km/h (155 mph). Porsche's range goal for the Mission E was over 500 km (311 mi).[30]

The car's system voltage is 800 V DC.[31] The batteries can be charged by an inductive plate or with a conventional charging system. Porsche claimed that with the Porsche Turbo Charging system, the battery could be charged at up to 350 kW, to 80% in just 15 minutes.[30]

Porsche Mission E at the IAA 2015

The suicide doors of the Porsche Mission E concept in open position

Interior

Front wheel

Rear view

Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo
The Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo previewed the Taycan Cross Turismo, and was presented at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. The design language of the Mission E Cross Turismo more closely resembles the Taycan than the Mission E. It combined the fully electric Mission E J1-platform with a 5-door estate body similar to the Panamera Sport Turismo, raised suspension, and off-road tyres and cladding to form a crossover utility vehicle. Porsche Chief designer Michael Mauer said the concept "shows possibilities of the future lineup."[32] On October 18, 2018, the Supervisory Board of Porsche AG approved series production of the production-ready Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo.[33]

Mission E Cross Turismo concept

Rear 3/4 view

Rear view

References
"Mission E: Porsche design of the future". newsroom.porsche.com. Porsche.
Tracy, David (6 September 2019). "An Extremely Detailed Look At The Porsche Taycan's Engineering Designed To Take On Tesla". Jalopnik. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019.
Vanderwerp, Dave (4 September 2019). "2020 Porsche Taycan Electric Sports Saloon Is the First Real Threat to Tesla". Car and Driver. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
"Tribute to tomorrow. Porsche Concept Study Mission E. - Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG".
"Porsche Mission E due with Level 4 autonomy and 15min fast-charging". autocar.co.uk. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
Taycan, Porsche. "Porsche Taycan Sales Exceed 20,000 In 2020". InsideEVs.
Valdes-Dapena, Peter. "Porsche's first electric car will be called the Taycan". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2018-06-11.
"Mission E becomes Taycan". newsroom.porsche.com. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
"#AskPorsche - The name Turbo". youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
"The body: Intelligent mix of materials for maximum strength". Porsche Newsroom.
"The battery: Sophisticated thermal management, 800-volt system voltage". Porsche Newsroom.
"2020 Porsche Taycan Prices, Reviews, and Pictures | Edmunds". Edmunds.com. June 1, 2020.
Valdes-Dapena, Peter (4 September 2019). "Porsche's first electric car has almost no switches, knobs or gauges. Here's what it does have". CNN. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
Dow, Jameson (26 December 2019). "See what's underneath and inside the Porsche Taycan". Electrek.
"Porsche Charging options for on the road. - Porsche AG". Porsche AG - Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
Wong, Jon (4 September 2019). "2020 Porsche Taycan arrives with up to 750 hp, $150,900 base price". Road Show. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
"Electric Porsche Taycan will be crucial to UK range, says boss". autocar.co.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
"World premiere of the Porsche Taycan". newsroom.porsche.com. Porsche. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
"Taycan Turbo Technical Data" (PDF). newsroom.porsche.com. Porsche. p. 4. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
"Taycan Turbo S Technical Data" (PDF). newsroom.porsche.com. Porsche. p. 4. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
Porsche Taycan Turbo S vs. Tesla Model S Performance: Electric Flattery, Car and Driver, 7 February 2020
Porter, Jon (14 October 2019). "Porsche prices its 'entry-level' Taycan EV at just over $100,000". The Verge. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
Weintraub, Seth (2020-06-29). "Porsche Taycan RWD makes China debut w/489km of NEDC range, uncertain if coming to US market". Electrek. Retrieved 2020-07-06.
"Porsche Announces Entry-Level Taycan Variant". InsideEVs. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
"2021 Porsche Taycan Comparison Reveals New Boosted EPA Range Estimates". InsideEVs. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
"Porsche Taycan 4S revealed with two power levels and a cheaper starting price". CNET.
"Porsche Taycan By The Numbers: Specs, Range, Performance & More". Insideevs.
"Porsche Taycan Turbo - Porsche USA". Porsche HOME - Porsche USA. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
"Tribute to tomorrow. Porsche Concept Study Mission E. - Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG". Technology.
Lambert, Fred (2016-12-26). "10 electric cars coming in the next 3 years : 4 – Audi Q6 e-tron quattro SUV". Electrek. Retrieved 2017-03-17.
Lambert, Fred (2019-07-29). "Porsche has 30,000 Taycan electric car reservations". Electrek.
"Porsche reveals its Mission E Cross Turismo concept". topgear.com. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
"Concept study Mission E Cross Turismo goes into series production - 300 new jobs". newsroom.porsche.com. Retrieved 2019-03-07.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Porsche Mission E and Porsche Taycan.
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Xbox 360
Xbox 360 full logo.svg
Left: Xbox 360 Elite, Center: Xbox 360 S and new-style controller, Right: Xbox 360 E and new-style controllerLeft: Xbox 360 Elite, Center: Xbox 360 S and new-style controller, Right: Xbox 360 E and new-style controllerLeft: Xbox 360 Elite, Center: Xbox 360 S and new-style controller, Right: Xbox 360 E and new-style controller
Left: Original model Xbox 360 Premium (2005)
Center: Redesigned slim model Xbox 360 S (2010)
Right: Latest model Xbox 360 E (2013) An Xbox 360 Elite and an Xbox 360 S with a black 360 S controller.
Developer Microsoft
Manufacturer Flextronics, Wistron, Celestica, Foxconn[1][2]
Product family Xbox
Type Home video game console
Generation Seventh generation
Release date
November 22, 2005[5]
Lifespan 2005–2016
Introductory price US$299, €299, £209 (Xbox 360 Core)[6]
US$399, €399, £279 (Xbox 360 (20 GB))[6]
Discontinued
WW: April 20, 2016[7]
Units sold Worldwide: 84 million (as of June 9, 2014)[8] (details)
Media DVD, CD, digital distribution
Add-on: HD DVD (discontinued)
Operating system Xbox 360 system software
System on a chip XCGPU (Xbox 360 S and E models only)
CPU 3.2 GHz PowerPC Tri-Core Xenon
Memory
512 MB of unified GDDR3 RAM clocked at 700 MHz
10MB of eDRAM cache on Xenos GPU
Storage
Storage media
Display
Video output formats
Graphics 500 MHz ATI/AMD Xenos
Sound
Analog stereo
Stereo LPCM (TOSLINK and HDMI)
Dolby Digital 5.1 (TOSLINK and HDMI)
Dolby Digital with WMA pro (TOSLINK and HDMI)
Controller input
Controllers
Connectivity Original models
2.4 GHz wireless, 3 × USB 2.0, IR receiver, 100 Mbit/s Ethernet
Add-on: Wifi 802.11 a/b/g, Wifi 802.11a/b/g/n[12]
Revised "S" models
2.4 GHz wireless, 5 × USB 2.0, Digital Optical audio out, IR receiver, 100 Mbit/s Ethernet, Wifi 802.11b/g/n, AUX port, HDMI port
Revised "E" models

2.4 GHz wireless, 4 × USB 2.0, IR receiver, 100 Mbit/s Ethernet, Wifi 802.11b/g/n, AUX port, HDMI port
Online services Xbox Live
Best-selling game Kinect Adventures! (24 million as pack-in game for Kinect)[13][14]
Backward
compatibility Selected Xbox games[15][16] (requires hard drive and the latest update)
Predecessor Xbox
Successor Xbox One
Website xbox.com/en-US/xbox-360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detailed launch and game information announced later that month at the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo.[17][18][19][20][21]

The Xbox 360 features an online service, Xbox Live, which was expanded from its previous iteration on the original Xbox and received regular updates during the console's lifetime. Available in free and subscription-based varieties, Xbox Live allows users to: play games online; download games (through Xbox Live Arcade) and game demos; purchase and stream music, television programs, and films through the Xbox Music and Xbox Video portals; and access third-party content services through media streaming applications. In addition to online multimedia features, it allows users to stream media from local PCs. Several peripherals have been released, including wireless controllers, expanded hard drive storage, and the Kinect motion sensing camera. The release of these additional services and peripherals helped the Xbox brand grow from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia, turning it into a hub for living-room computing entertainment.[22][23][24][25][26]

Launched worldwide across 2005–2006, the Xbox 360 was initially in short supply in many regions, including North America and Europe. The earliest versions of the console suffered from a high failure rate, indicated by the so-called "Red Ring of Death", necessitating an extension of the device's warranty period. Microsoft released two redesigned models of the console: the Xbox 360 S in 2010,[27] and the Xbox 360 E in 2013.[28] Xbox 360 is the sixth-highest-selling home video game console in history, and the highest-selling console made by an American company. Although not the best-selling console of its generation, the Xbox 360 was deemed by TechRadar to be the most influential through its emphasis on digital media distribution and multiplayer gaming on Xbox Live.[26][29]

The Xbox 360's successor, the Xbox One, was released on November 22, 2013.[30] On April 20, 2016, Microsoft announced that it would end the production of new Xbox 360 hardware, although the company will continue to support the platform.[7]

Contents
1 History
1.1 Development
1.2 Launch
1.3 Critical reception
1.4 Sales
1.5 Legacy
2 Hardware
2.1 Technical specifications
2.2 Accessories
2.3 AV output
2.4 Retail configurations
2.5 Technical problems
3 Software
3.1 Games
3.2 Interface
3.3 Multimedia
3.4 XNA community
4 Services
4.1 Xbox Live
4.2 Xbox Live Marketplace
4.3 Xbox Live Arcade
4.4 Movies & TV
4.5 Groove Music
4.6 Xbox SmartGlass
5 Game development
6 See also
7 Further reading
8 References
9 External links
History
Development
Known during development as Xbox Next, Xenon, Xbox 2, Xbox FS or NextBox,[31] the Xbox 360 was conceived in early 2003.[32] In February 2003, planning for the Xenon software platform began, and was headed by Microsoft's Vice President J Allard.[32] That month, Microsoft held an event for 400 developers in Bellevue, Washington to recruit support for the system.[32] Also that month, Peter Moore, former president of Sega of America, joined Microsoft. On August 12, 2003, ATI signed on to produce the graphic processing unit for the new console, a deal which was publicly announced two days later.[33] Before the launch of the Xbox 360, several Alpha development kits were spotted using Apple's Power Mac G5 hardware. This was because the system's PowerPC 970 processor running the same PowerPC architecture that the Xbox 360 would eventually run under IBM's Xenon processor. The cores of the Xenon processor were developed using a slightly modified version of the PlayStation 3's Cell Processor PPE architecture. According to David Shippy and Mickie Phipps, the IBM employees were "hiding" their work from Sony and Toshiba, IBM's partners in developing the Cell Processor.[34] Jeff Minter created the music visualization program Neon which is included with the Xbox 360.[35]

Launch
Main article: Xbox 360 launch
The Xbox 360 was released on November 22, 2005, in the United States and Canada;[5] December 2, 2005, in Europe and December 10, 2005, in Japan. It was later launched in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, and Russia. In its first year in the market, the system was launched in 36 countries, more countries than any other console has launched in a single year.[36]

Critical reception
In 2009, IGN named the Xbox 360 the sixth-greatest video game console of all time, out of a field of 25.[37] Although not the best-selling console of the seventh-generation, the Xbox 360 was deemed by TechRadar to be the most influential, by emphasizing digital media distribution and online gaming through Xbox Live, and by popularizing game achievement awards.[26] PC Magazine considered the Xbox 360 the prototype for online gaming as it "proved that online gaming communities could thrive in the console space".[22] Five years after the Xbox 360's original debut, the well-received Kinect motion capture camera was released, which set the record of being the fastest selling consumer electronic device in history, and extended the life of the console.[38] Edge ranked Xbox 360 the second-best console of the 1993–2013 period, stating "It had its own social network, cross-game chat, new indie games every week, and the best version of just about every multiformat game...Killzone is no Halo and nowadays Gran Turismo is no Forza, but it's not about the exclusives—there's nothing to trump Naughty Dog's PS3 output, after all. Rather, it's about the choices Microsoft made back in the original Xbox's lifetime. The PC-like architecture meant the early EA Sports games ran at 60fps compared to only 30 on PS3, Xbox Live meant every dedicated player had an existing friends list, and Halo meant Microsoft had the killer next-generation exclusive. And when developers demo games on PC now they do it with a 360 pad—another industry benchmark, and a critical one."[39]

Sales
Region Units sold First available
United States 38.8 million as of June 27, 2013[40] November 22, 2005
EMEA region
(Europe, Middle East and Africa) 13.7 million as of March 31, 2011[41]
(Includes UK sales) December 2, 2005
United Kingdom 9 million (lifetime sales)[42]
Japan 1.63 million as of June 27, 2013[40] December 10, 2005
Australia & New Zealand 1 million as of April 19, 2010[43] March 23, 2006
Worldwide 84 million as of June 9, 2014[8] (more...)
Main article: Xbox 360 sales
The Xbox 360 began production only 69 days before launch,[44][45] and Microsoft was not able to supply enough systems to meet initial consumer demand in Europe or North America, selling out completely upon release in all regions except in Japan.[46][47][48][49] Forty thousand units were offered for sale on auction site eBay during the initial week of release, 10% of the total supply.[50] By year's end, Microsoft had shipped 1.5 million units, including 900,000 in North America, 500,000 in Europe, and 100,000 in Japan.[51]

In May 2008, Microsoft announced that 10 million Xbox 360s had been sold and that it was the "first current generation gaming console" to surpass the 10 million figure in the US.[52] In the US, the Xbox 360 was the leader in current-generation home console sales until June 2008, when it was surpassed by the Wii.[53][54][55] By the end of March 2011, Xbox 360 sales in the US had reached 25.4 million units.[41] Between January 2011 and October 2013, the Xbox 360 was the best-selling console in the United States for these 32 consecutive months.[56] By the end of 2014, Xbox 360 sales had surpassed sales of the Wii, making the Xbox 360 the best-selling 7th-generation console in the US once again.[57] In Canada, the Xbox 360 has sold a total of 870,000 units as of August 1, 2008.[58]

In Europe, the Xbox 360 has sold seven million units as of November 20, 2008.[59] In the United Kingdom, the Xbox 360 had sold 3.2 million units by January 2009, according to GfK Chart-Track.[60] The 8 million unit mark was crossed in the UK by February 2013.[61] Sales of the Xbox 360 would overtake sales of the Wii later that year, making the Xbox 360 the best-selling 7th-generation console in the UK, with lifetime sales over 9 million units.[62][42] Over 1 million units were sold in Spain across the console's lifecycle.[63]

The Xbox 360 crossed the 1 million units sold in Japan in March 2009,[64] and the 1.5 million units sold in June 2011.[65] While the Xbox 360 has sold poorly in Japan, selling 1.63 million units,[40] it improved upon the sales of the original Xbox, which had sold only 450,000 units.[66] Edge magazine reported that Microsoft had been unable to make serious inroads into the dominance of domestic rivals Sony and Nintendo; adding that lackluster sales in Japan had led to retailers scaling down and in some cases, discontinuing sales of the Xbox 360 completely.[67] The significance of Japan's poor sales might be overstated in the media in comparison to overall international sales.[68]

Legacy
The Xbox 360 sold much better than its predecessor, and although not the best-selling console of the seventh generation, it is regarded as a success since it strengthened Microsoft as a major force in the console market at the expense of well-established rivals.[29] The inexpensive Nintendo Wii did sell the most console units but eventually saw a collapse of third-party software support in its later years, and it has been viewed by some as a fad since the succeeding Wii U had a poor debut in 2012.[26][69][70][71][72][73] The PlayStation 3 struggled for a time due to being too expensive and initially lacking quality games,[74] making it far less dominant than its predecessor, the PlayStation 2, and it took until late in the PlayStation 3's lifespan for its sales and games to reach parity with the Xbox 360. TechRadar proclaimed that "Xbox 360 passes the baton as the king of the hill – a position that puts all the more pressure on its successor, Xbox One".[26]

The Xbox 360's advantage over its competitors was due to the release of high-profile games from both first party and third-party developers. The 2007 Game Critics Awards honored the platform with 38 nominations and 12 wins – more than any other platform.[75][76] By March 2008, the Xbox 360 had reached a software attach rate of 7.5 games per console in the US; the rate was 7.0 in Europe, while its competitors were 3.8 (PS3) and 3.5 (Wii), according to Microsoft.[77] At the 2008 Game Developers Conference, Microsoft announced that it expected over 1,000 games available for Xbox 360 by the end of the year.[78] As well as enjoying exclusives such as additions to the Halo franchise and Gears of War, the Xbox 360 has managed to gain a simultaneous release of games that were initially planned to be PS3 exclusives, including Devil May Cry 4,[79] Ace Combat 6,[80] Virtua Fighter 5,[81] Grand Theft Auto IV,[82] Final Fantasy XIII,[83] Tekken 6,[84] Metal Gear Solid : Rising,[85] and L.A. Noire.[86] In addition, Xbox 360 versions of cross-platform games were generally considered superior to their PS3 counterparts in 2006 and 2007, due in part to the difficulties of programming for the PS3.[87]

TechRadar deemed the Xbox 360 as the most influential game system through its emphasis of digital media distribution, Xbox Live online gaming service, and game achievement feature.[26] During the console's lifetime, the Xbox brand has grown from gaming-only to encompassing all multimedia, turning it into a hub for "living-room computing environment".[23][24][25] Five years after the Xbox 360's original debut, the well-received Kinect motion capture camera was released, which became the fastest selling consumer electronic device in history, and extended the life of the console.[38]

Microsoft announced the successor to the Xbox 360, the Xbox One, on May 21, 2013.[88] On April 20, 2016, Microsoft announced the end of production of new Xbox 360 hardware, though the company will continue to provide hardware and software support for the platform as selected Xbox 360 games are playable on Xbox One.[89] The Xbox 360 continued to be supported by major publishers with new games well into the Xbox One's lifecycle. New titles were still being released in 2018.[90] The Xbox 360 continues to have an active player base years after the system's discontinuation. Speaking to Engadget at E3 2019 after the announcement of Project Scarlett, the next-generation of Xbox consoles after the Xbox One, Phil Spencer stated that there were still "millions and millions of players" active on the Xbox 360.[91] After the launch of the Xbox Series X and S by the end of 2020, the Xbox 360 still had a 17.7% market share of all consoles in use in Mexico; comparatively, newer systems like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 stood at 36.9% and 18.0% market share, respectively.[92]

Hardware

The Xbox 360 E model, announced at 2013's E3, shares many aesthetics with the Xbox One.
The main unit of the Xbox 360 itself has slight double concavity in matte white or black. The official color of the white model is Arctic Chill. It features a port on the top when vertical (left side when horizontal) to which a custom-housed hard disk drive unit can be attached.

On the Slim and E models, the hard drive bay is on the bottom when vertical (right side when horizontal) and requires the opening of a concealed door to access it. (This does not void the warranty.) The Xbox 360 Slim/E hard drives are standard 2.5" SATA laptop drives,[93] but have a custom enclosure and firmware so that the Xbox 360 can recognize it.[94]

Technical specifications
Main article: Xbox 360 technical specifications
Various hard disk drives have been produced, including options at 20, 60, 120, 250, 320, or 500 GB. Inside, the Xbox 360 uses the triple-core IBM designed Xenon as its CPU, with each core capable of simultaneously processing two threads, and can therefore operate on up to six threads at once.[95] Graphics processing is handled by the ATI Xenos, which has 10 MB of eDRAM. Its main memory pool is 512 MB in size.

Accessories
Main article: Xbox 360 accessories
Many accessories are available for the console, including both wired and wireless controllers, faceplates for customization, headsets for chatting, a webcam for video chatting, dance mats and Gamercize for exercise, three sizes of memory units and five sizes of hard drives (20, 60, 120, 250 (initially Japan only,[96] but later also available elsewhere[97][98]) and 320 GB), among other items, all of which are styled to match the console.

In 2006, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 HD DVD Player. The accessory was discontinued in 2008 after the format war had ended in Blu-ray's favor.[99]

Kinect
Main article: Kinect
A long, black plastic tube with a stand on its bottom and sensors arrayed along its front. The Xbox 360 brand is displayed next to the sensors.
A Kinect sensor device. The Xbox 360 E revision has an additional Xbox logo to the left of the Xbox 360 branding.
Kinect is a "controller-free gaming and entertainment experience" for the Xbox 360. It was first announced on June 1, 2009, at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, under the codename, Project Natal.[100] The add-on peripheral enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without a game controller by using gestures, spoken commands and presented objects and images. The Kinect accessory is compatible with all Xbox 360 models,[101] connecting to new models via a custom connector, and to older ones via a USB and mains power adapter.[102] During their CES 2010 keynote speech, Robbie Bach and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer went on to say that Kinect will be released during the holiday period (November–January) and work with every 360 console. It was released on November 4, 2010[103]

Xbox 360 Chatpad from the Messenger Kit attached to a wireless controller
AV output
Built-in

HDMI (only made after 2007)
S/PDIF (only Slim)
Stereo Audio, Composite Video - Jack 3.5 mm (only Slim E)
Through AV connector (excluding E models which have no AV connector)

Composite Video
S-Video[104]
SCART RGB[105]
VGA[106]
YPBPR
D-Terminal[107]
S/PDIF
RCA - stereo audio
Retail configurations
Main article: List of Xbox 360 retail configurations
Xbox 360 Premium
Xbox 360 Premium
Xbox 360 Arcade
Xbox 360 Arcade (replaced Xbox 360 Core)
Xbox 360 Elite
Xbox 360 Elite
At launch, the Xbox 360 was available in two configurations: the "Xbox 360" package (unofficially known as the 20 GB Pro or Premium), priced at US$399 or GB£279.99, and the "Xbox 360 Core", priced at US$299 and GB£209.99. The original shipment of the Xbox 360 version included a cut-down version of the Media Remote as a promotion.[6] The Elite package was launched later at US$479. The "Xbox 360 Core" was replaced by the "Xbox 360 Arcade" in October 2007[108] and a 60 GB version of the Xbox 360 Pro was released on August 1, 2008. The Pro package was discontinued and marked down to US$249 on August 28, 2009, to be sold until stock ran out, while the Elite was also marked down in price to US$299.[109]

Two major hardware revisions of the Xbox 360 have succeeded the original models; the Xbox 360 S (also referred to as the "Slim") replaced the original "Elite" and "Arcade" models in 2010. The S model carries a smaller, streamlined appearance with an angular case, and utilizes a redesigned motherboard designed to alleviate the hardware and overheating issues experienced by prior models. It also includes a proprietary port for use with the Kinect sensor.[27][110][111] The Xbox 360 E, a further streamlined variation of the 360 S with a two-tone rectangular case inspired by Xbox One, was released in 2013. In addition to its revised aesthetics, the Xbox 360 E also has one fewer USB port, no AV connector (and thus is HDMI-only), and no longer supports S/PDIF.[112]

Timeline

United States
November 22, 2005[113]

Launch of Xbox 360 Premium (20 GB) – $399.99
Launch of Xbox 360 Core – $299.99
April 29, 2007

Launch Xbox 360 Elite (120 GB) – $479.99[114]
August 6, 2007[115]

Price cut on Xbox 360 Premium (20 GB) – $349.99
Price cut on Xbox 360 Core – $279.99
Price cut on Xbox 360 Elite – $449.99
October 27, 2007

Launch of Xbox 360 Arcade – $279.99[116]
Discontinuation of Xbox 360 Core
July 13, 2008

Discontinuation of Xbox 360 (20 GB) (price cut to $299.99 for remaining stock)[117]
August 1, 2008[117]

Launch of Xbox 360 Premium (60 GB) – $349.99
September 5, 2008[118]

Price cut on Xbox 360 Elite – $399.99
Price cut on Xbox 360 (60 GB) – $299.99
Price cut on Xbox 360 Arcade – $199.99
August 28, 2009

Discontinuation of Xbox 360 (60 GB) (price cut to $249.99 for remaining stock)
Price cut on Xbox 360 Elite – $299.99
June 19, 2010[27]

Launch of Xbox 360 S 250 GB – $299.99
Discontinuation of Xbox 360 Elite (price cut to $249.99 for remaining stock)
Discontinuation of Xbox 360 Arcade (price cut to $149.99 for remaining stock)
August 3, 2010

Launch of Xbox 360 S 4 GB – $199.99
June 10, 2013[119]

Launch of Xbox 360 E 4 GB – $199.99
Launch of Xbox 360 E 250 GB – $299.99
April 20, 2016

Discontinuation of all Xbox 360 models.[7]
Technical problems
Main article: Xbox 360 technical problems

Three red lights on the Xbox 360's ring indicator representing a "General Error requiring service of the Console or Power Adapter," commonly nicknamed the "Red Ring of Death."
The original model of the Xbox 360 has been subject to a number of technical problems. Since the console's release in 2005, users have reported concerns over its reliability and failure rate.[120][121][122]

To aid customers with defective consoles, Microsoft extended the Xbox 360's manufacturer's warranty to three years for hardware failure problems that generate a "General Hardware Failure" error report. A "General Hardware Failure" is recognized on all models released before the Xbox 360 S by three quadrants of the ring around the power button flashing red. This error is often known as the "Red Ring of Death".[123] In April 2009 the warranty was extended to also cover failures related to the E74 error code.[124] The warranty extension is not granted for any other types of failures that do not generate these specific error codes.

Since these problems surfaced, Microsoft has attempted to modify the console to improve its reliability. Modifications include a reduction in the number, size, and placement of components, the addition of dabs of epoxy on the corners and edges of the CPU and GPU as glue to prevent movement relative to the board during heat expansion,[125] and a second GPU heatsink to dissipate more heat.[126] With the release of the redesigned Xbox 360 S, the warranty for the newer models does not include the three-year extended coverage for "General Hardware Failures".[127] The newer Xbox 360 S and E models indicate system overheating when the console's power button begins to flash red, unlike previous models where the first and third quadrant of the ring would light up red around the power button if overheating occurred. The system will then warn the user of imminent system shutdown until the system has cooled,[128] whereas a flashing power button that alternates between green and red is an indication of a "General Hardware Failure" unlike older models where three of the quadrants would light up red.[129]

Software
Games
Main article: List of Xbox 360 games
See also: List of Xbox games compatible with Xbox 360

Rock of Ages, one of many Unreal Engine 3 powered games available on Xbox 360.
The Xbox 360 launched with 14 games in North America and 13 in Europe. The console's best-selling game for 2005, Call of Duty 2, sold over a million copies.[130] Five other games sold over a million copies in the console's first year on the market: Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter,[131] The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,[132] Dead or Alive 4,[133] Saints Row,[134] and Gears of War.[135] Gears of War would become the best-selling game on the console with 3 million copies in 2006,[136] before being surpassed in 2007 by Halo 3 with over 8 million copies.[137]

Six games were initially available in Japan, while eagerly anticipated games such as Dead or Alive 4 and Enchanted Arms were released in the weeks following the console's launch.[138] Games targeted specifically for the region, such as Chromehounds, Ninety-Nine Nights, and Phantasy Star Universe, were also released in the console's first year.[139] Microsoft also had the support of Japanese developer Mistwalker, founded by Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi. Mistwalker's first game, Blue Dragon, was released in 2006 and had a limited-edition bundle which sold out quickly with over 10,000 pre-orders.[140] Blue Dragon is one of three Xbox 360 games to surpass 200,000 units in Japan, along with Tales of Vesperia and Star Ocean: The Last Hope. Mistwalker's second game, Lost Odyssey also sold over 100,000 copies.[141]

The 2007 Game Critics Awards honored the Xbox 360 platform with 38 Nominations and 11 Wins.[142]

By 2015, game releases started to decline as most publishers instead focused on the Xbox One. The last official game released for the system was Just Dance 2019, released on October 23, 2018, in North America, and October 25 in Europe and Australia.

As one of the late updates to the software following its discontinuation, Microsoft will add the ability for Xbox 360 users to use cloud saves even if they do not have Xbox Live Gold prior to the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S in November 2020. The new consoles will have backward compatibility for all Xbox 360 games that are already backward compatible on the Xbox One, and can use any Xbox 360 game's cloud saves through this update, making the transition to the new consoles easier.[143]

Interface
Main article: Xbox 360 system software
The Xbox 360's original graphical user interface was the Xbox 360 Dashboard; a tabbed interface that featured five "Blades" (formerly four blades), and was designed by AKQA[144] and Audiobrain. It could be launched automatically when the console booted without a disc in it, or when the disc tray was ejected, but the user had the option to select what the console does if a game is in the tray on start up, or if inserted when already on. A simplified version of it was also accessible at any time via the Xbox Guide button on the gamepad.[145] This simplified version showed the user's gamercard, Xbox Live messages and friends list. It also allowed for personal and music settings, in addition to voice or video chats, or returning to the Xbox Dashboard from the game.

On November 19, 2008, the Xbox 360's dashboard was changed from the "Blade" interface, to a dashboard reminiscent of that present on the Zune and Windows Media Center, known as the "New Xbox Experience" or NXE.[146]

Since the console's release, Microsoft has released several updates for the Dashboard software.[147][148] These updates have included adding new features to the console, enhancing Xbox Live functionality and multimedia playback capabilities, adding compatibility for new accessories, and fixing bugs in the software. Such updates are mandatory for users wishing to use Xbox Live, as access to Xbox Live is disabled until the update is performed.[citation needed]

New Xbox Experience
Further information: Xbox Live § New Xbox Experience
At E3 2008, at Microsoft's Show, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg and Marc Whitten announced the new Xbox 360 interface called the "New Xbox Experience" (NXE). The update was intended to ease console menu navigation. Its GUI uses the Twist UI, previously used in Windows Media Center and the Zune. Its new Xbox Guide retains all Dashboard functionality (including the Marketplace browser and disk ejection) and the original "Blade" interface (although the color scheme has been changed to match that of the NXE Dashboard).[149]

The NXE also provides many new features. Users can now install games from disc to the hard drive to play them with reduced load time and less disc drive noise, but each game's disc must remain in the system in order to run. A new, built-in Community system allows the creation of digitized Avatars that can be used for multiple activities, such as sharing photos or playing Arcade games like 1 vs. 100. The update was released on November 19, 2008.[150]

While previous system updates have been stored on internal memory, the NXE update was the first to require a storage device—at least a 128 MB memory card or a hard drive.[151]

Microsoft released a further update to the Xbox 360 Dashboard starting on December 6, 2011.[152] It included a completely new user interface which utilizes Microsoft's Metro design language, and added new features such as cloud storage for game saves and profiles, live television, Bing voice search,[153] access to YouTube videos and better support for Kinect voice commands.[154]

Multimedia
The Xbox 360 supports videos in Windows Media Video (WMV) format (including high-definition and PlaysForSure videos), as well as H.264 and MPEG-4 media. The December 2007 dashboard update added support for the playback of MPEG-4 ASP format videos.[155] The console can also display pictures and perform slideshows of photo collections with various transition effects, and supports audio playback, with music player controls accessible through the Xbox 360 Guide button. Users may play back their own music while playing games or using the dashboard, and can play music with an interactive visual synthesizer.

Music, photos and videos can be played from standard USB mass storage devices, Xbox 360 proprietary storage devices (such as memory cards or Xbox 360 hard drives), and servers or computers with Windows Media Center or Windows XP with Service pack 2 or higher within the local-area network in streaming mode.[156][157] As the Xbox 360 uses a modified version of the UPnP AV protocol,[158] some alternative UPnP servers such as uShare (part of the GeeXboX project) and MythTV can also stream media to the Xbox 360, allowing for similar functionality from non-Windows servers. This is possible with video files up to HD-resolution and with several codecs (MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WMV) and container formats (WMV, MOV, TS).[159]

As of October 27, 2009,[160] UK and Ireland users are also able to access live and on-demand streams of Sky television programming.[161]

At the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Consumer Electronics Shows, Microsoft had announced that IPTV services would soon be made available to use through the Xbox 360. In 2007, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates stated that IPTV on Xbox 360 was expected to be available to consumers by the holiday season, using the Microsoft TV IPTV Edition platform.[162] In 2008, Gates and president of Entertainment & Devices Robbie Bach announced a partnership with BT in the United Kingdom, in which the BT Vision advanced TV service, using the newer Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV platform, would be accessible via Xbox 360, planned for the middle of the year.[163] BT Vision's DVR-based features would not be available on Xbox 360 due to limited hard drive capacity.[164] In 2010, while announcing version 2.0 of Microsoft Mediaroom, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer mentioned that AT&T's U-verse IPTV service would enable Xbox 360s to be used as set-top boxes later in the year.[165] As of January 2010, IPTV on Xbox 360 has yet to be deployed beyond limited trials.[citation needed]

In 2012, Microsoft released the Live Event Player, allowing for events such as video game shows, beauty pageants, award shows, concerts, news and sporting events to be streamed on the console via Xbox Live. The first live events streamed on Live were the 2012 Revolver Golden Gods, Microsoft's E3 2012 media briefing and the Miss Teen USA 2012 beauty pageant.[citation needed]

XNA community
Main article: Microsoft XNA
XNA Community is a feature whereby Xbox 360 owners can receive community-created games, made with Microsoft XNA Game Studio, from the XNA Creators Club. The games are written, published, and distributed through a community managed portal. XNA Community provides a channel for digital videogame delivery over Xbox Live that can be free of royalties, publishers and licenses.[166][167] XNA game sales, however, did not meet original expectations,[168] though Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG) has had some "hits."[citation needed]

Services
Xbox Live
Main article: Xbox Live
When the Xbox 360 was released, Microsoft's online gaming service Xbox Live was shut down for 24 hours and underwent a major upgrade, adding a basic non-subscription service called Xbox Live Silver (later renamed Xbox Live Free) to its already established premium subscription-based service (which was renamed Gold). Xbox Live Free is included with all SKUs of the console. It allows users to create a user profile, join on message boards, and access Microsoft's Xbox Live Arcade and Marketplace and talk to other members.[169][170] A Live Free account does not generally support multiplayer gaming; however, some games that have rather limited online functions already, (such as Viva Piñata) or games that feature their own subscription service (e.g. EA Sports games) can be played with a Free account. Xbox Live also supports voice the latter a feature possible with the Xbox Live Vision.[171]

Xbox Live Gold includes the same features as Free and includes integrated online game playing capabilities outside of third-party subscriptions. Microsoft has allowed previous Xbox Live subscribers to maintain their profile information, friends list, and games history when they make the transition to Xbox Live Gold. To transfer an Xbox Live account to the new system, users need to link a Windows Live ID to their gamertag on Xbox.com.[172] When users add an Xbox Live enabled profile to their console, they are required to provide the console with their passport account information and the last four digits of their credit card number, which is used for verification purposes and billing. An Xbox Live Gold account has an annual cost of US$59.99, C$59.99, NZ$90.00, GB£39.99, or €59.99. On January 5, 2011, Xbox Live reached over 30 million subscribers.[173]

Xbox Live Marketplace
Main article: Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for the console that allows Xbox Live users to download purchased or promotional content. The service offers movie and game trailers, game demos, Xbox Live Arcade games and Xbox 360 Dashboard themes as well as add-on game content (items, costumes, levels etc.). These features are available to both Free and Gold members on Xbox Live. A hard drive or memory unit is required to store products purchased from Xbox Live Marketplace.[174] In order to download priced content, users are required to purchase Microsoft Points for use as scrip;[175] though some products (such as trailers and demos) are free to download. Microsoft Points can be obtained through prepaid cards in 1,600 and 4,000-point denominations. Microsoft Points can also be purchased through Xbox Live with a credit card in 500, 1,000, 2,000 and 5,000-point denominations. Users are able to view items available to download on the service through a PC via the Xbox Live Marketplace website.[176] An estimated seventy percent of Xbox Live users have downloaded items from the Marketplace.[177]

Xbox Live Arcade
Main article: Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute downloadable video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners. In addition to classic arcade games such as Ms. Pac-Man, the service offers some new original games like Assault Heroes. The Xbox Live Arcade also features games from other consoles, such as the PlayStation game Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and PC games such as Zuma. The service was first launched on November 3, 2004,[178] using a DVD to load, and offered games for about US$5 to $15. Items are purchased using Microsoft Points, a proprietary currency used to reduce credit card transaction charges. On November 22, 2005, Xbox Live Arcade was re-launched with the release of the Xbox 360, in which it was now integrated with the Xbox 360's dashboard. The games are generally aimed toward more casual gamers; examples of the more popular games are Geometry Wars, Street Fighter II' Hyper Fighting, and Uno.[179] On March 24, 2010, Microsoft introduced the Game Room to Xbox Live. Game Room is a gaming service for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows that lets players compete in classic arcade and console games in a virtual arcade.[180]

DVD-ROM for Xbox 360
Movies & TV
Main article: Microsoft Movies & TV
On November 6, 2006, Microsoft announced the Xbox Video Marketplace, an exclusive video store accessible through the console. Launched in the United States on November 22, 2006, the first anniversary of the Xbox 360's launch, the service allows users in the United States to download high-definition and standard-definition television shows and movies onto an Xbox 360 console for viewing. With the exception of short clips, content is not currently available for streaming, and must be downloaded. Movies are also available for rental. They expire in 14 days after download or at the end of the first 24 hours after the movie has begun playing, whichever comes first. Television episodes can be purchased to own, and are transferable to an unlimited number of consoles. Downloaded files use 5.1 surround audio and are encoded using VC-1 for video at 720p, with a bitrate of 6.8 Mbit/s.[181] Television content is offered from MTV, VH1, Comedy Central, Turner Broadcasting, and CBS; and movie content is Warner Bros., Paramount, and Disney, along with other publishers.[182]

After the Spring 2007 update, the following video codecs are supported:

H.264 video support: Up to 15 Mbit/s, Baseline, Main, and High (up to level 4.1) Profiles with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.
MPEG-4 Part 2 video support: Up to 8 Mbit/s, Simple Profile with 2 channel AAC LC and Main Profiles.
As a late addition to the December Xbox 360 update, 25 movies were added to the European Xbox 360 video market place on the December 11, 2007 and cost 250 Microsoft points for the SD version of the movie and 380 points for the HD version of the movie.[183] Xbox Live members in Canada featured the ability to go on the Xbox Live Marketplace also as of December 11, 2007 with around 30 movies to be downloaded for the same number of Microsoft Points.[184]

On May 26, 2009, Microsoft announced it would release the Zune HD (in the fall of 2009), which was then the next addition to the Zune product range. This was of an impact on the Xbox Live Video Store as it was also announced that the Zune Video Marketplace and the Xbox Live Video Store will be merged to form the Zune Marketplace, which will be arriving on Xbox Live in 7 countries initially, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland and Spain.[185] Further details were released at the Microsoft press conference at E3 2009.[186]

On October 16, 2012, Xbox Video and Xbox Music were released, replacing the Zune Marketplace. Xbox Video is a digital video service on that offers full HD movies and TV series for purchase or rental on Xbox 360, Windows 8, Windows RT PCs and tablets, and Windows Phones.[187]

On August 18, 2015, Microsoft rolled out an update renaming it Movies and TV similar to the Windows 10 App.[188]

Groove Music
Main article: Groove Music
Xbox Music provides 30 million music tracks available for purchase or access through subscription. It was announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 and it integrates with Windows 8 and Windows Phone as well.[189]

In August 2015 Microsoft rolled out an update renaming it to Groove Music similar to the Windows 10 App.

Xbox SmartGlass
Main article: Xbox SmartGlass
Xbox SmartGlass allows for integration between the Xbox 360 console and mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.[190] An app is available on Android, Windows Phone 8 and iOS. Users of the feature can view additional content to accompany the game they are playing, or the TV shows and movies they are watching. They can also use their mobile device as a remote to control the Xbox 360.[191] The SmartGlass functionality can also be found in the Xbox 360's successor, the Xbox One.

Game development
PartnerNet, the developers-only alternative Xbox Live network used by developers to beta test game content developed for Xbox Live Arcade,[192] runs on Xbox 360 debug kits, which are used both by developers and by the gaming press. In a podcast released on February 12, 2007, a developer breached the PartnerNet non-disclosure agreement (NDA) by commenting that he had found a playable version of Alien Hominid and an unplayable version of Ikaruga on PartnerNet. A few video game journalists, misconstruing the breach of the NDA as an invalidation of the NDA, immediately began reporting on other games being tested via PartnerNet, including a remake of Jetpac.[193] (Alien Hominid for the Xbox 360 was released on February 28 of that year, and Ikaruga was released over a year later on April 9, 2008. Jetpac was released for the Xbox 360 on March 28, 2007, as Jetpac Refuelled.) There have also been numerous video and screenshot leaks of game footage on PartnerNet, as well as a complete version of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, which caused for the whole PartnerNet service to be shut down overnight on April 3, 2010.[194] In the following days, Microsoft reminded developers and journalists that they were in breach of NDA by sharing information about PartnerNet content and asked websites to remove lists of games in development that were discovered on the service.[195] Sega used feedback from fans about the leaked version of Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I to refine it before they eventually released it.[196] Additionally, a pair of hackers played their modded Halo 3 games on PartnerNet in addition to using PartnerNet to find unreleased and untested software. The hackers passed this information along to their friends before they were eventually caught by Bungie. Consequently, Bungie left a message for the hackers on PartnerNet which read "Winners Don't Break Into PartnerNet."[197] Other games that were leaked in the PartnerNet fiasco include Shenmue and Shenmue 2.[198]

See also
Video games portal
List of Xbox 360 games
List of Xbox 360 applications
List of original programs distributed by Xbox Entertainment Studios
Further reading
Takahashi, Dean (May 17, 2006). The Xbox 360 Uncloaked: The Real Story Behind Microsoft's Next-Generation Video Game Console. Lulu Press. p. 404. ISBN 978-0977784219.
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This article is about the country. For other uses, see Poland (disambiguation).
"Polska" redirects here. For the dance, see Polska (dance).
"Rzeczpospolita Polska" redirects here. For other uses, see Rzeczpospolita (disambiguation).
Coordinates: 52°N 20°E

Republic of Poland
Rzeczpospolita Polska (Polish)
Flag of Poland
Flag
Coat of arms of Poland
Coat of arms
Anthem: "Mazurek Dabrowskiego"
(English: "Poland Is Not Yet Lost")
MENU0:00
EU-Poland (orthographic projection).svg
Show globe
Show map of Europe
Show all
Location of Poland (dark green)
– in Europe (green & dark grey)
– in the European Union (green) – [Legend]

Capital
and largest city
Warsaw
52°13'N 21°02'E
Official languages Polish[1]
Ethnic groups (2011[2][3])
98% Poles[note 1]
2% Others or not stated
Religion (2019[4])
90% Christianity
—86% Catholicism
—4% Other Christian
6% No religion
1% Others
3% Unanswered
Demonym(s)
PolishPole
Government Unitary semi-presidential
constitutional republic
• President
Andrzej Duda
• Prime Minister
Mateusz Morawiecki
Legislature Parliament
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
Sejm
Formation
• Christianization of Poland[a]
14 April 966
• Kingdom of Poland
18 April 1025
• Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
1 July 1569
• Partitions of Poland
24 October 1795
• Second Republic
11 November 1918
• Government-in-exile
17 September 1939
• People's Republic
19 February 1947
• Third Republic
31 December 1989[6]
Area
• Total
312,696[7] km2 (120,733 sq mi)[b] (69th)
• Water (%)
1.48 (as of 2015)[9]
Population
• 2020 estimate
Neutral decrease 38,268,000[10] (38th)
• Density
123/km2 (318.6/sq mi) (83rd)
GDP (PPP) 2021 estimate
• Total
Increase $1.363 trillion[11] (19th)
• Per capita
Increase $35,957[11] (39th)
GDP (nominal) 2021 estimate
• Total
Increase $642 billion[11] (22nd)
• Per capita
Increase $16,930[11] (44th)
Gini (2019) Negative increase 28.5[12]
low
HDI (2019) Increase 0.880[13]
very high · 35th
Currency Zloty (PLN)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+2 (CEST)
Date format dd/mm/yyyy (CE)
Driving side right
Calling code +48
ISO 3166 code PL
Internet TLD .pl
Website
poland.pl
Poland (Polish: Polska ['p?lska] (About this soundlisten)), officially the Republic of Poland,[c] is a country located in Central Europe.[14] It is divided into 16 administrative provinces, covering an area of 312,696 km2 (120,733 sq mi), and has a largely temperate seasonal climate.[8] Poland has a population of nearly 38.5 million people, and is the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union.[8] Warsaw is the nation's capital and largest metropolis. Other major cities include Kraków, Lódz, Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk, and Szczecin.

Poland's topographically diverse territory extends from the beaches along the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in its south. The country is bordered by Lithuania and Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west.[15]

The history of human activity on Polish soil spans thousands of years. Throughout the late antiquity period it became extensively diverse, with various cultures and tribes settling on the vast Central European Plain. However, it was the Western Polans who dominated the region and gave Poland its name. The establishment of Polish statehood can be traced to 966, when the pagan ruler of a realm coextensive with the territory of present-day Poland embraced Christianity and converted to Catholicism.[16] The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025 and in 1569 cemented its longstanding political association with Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest (over one million square kilometres or 400,000 square miles in area) and most populous nations of 16th and 17th century Europe, with a uniquely liberal political system which adopted Europe's first modern constitution, the Constitution of 3 May 1791.[17][18][19]

With the passing of prominence and prosperity, the country was partitioned by neighbouring states at the end of the 18th century, and regained independence in 1918 with the Treaty of Versailles. After a series of territorial conflicts, the new multi-ethnic Poland restored its position as a key player in European politics. In September 1939, World War II began with the invasion of Poland by Germany, followed by the Soviets invading Poland in accordance with the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Approximately six million Polish citizens, including three million of the country's Jews, perished during the course of the war.[20][21] As a member of the Eastern Bloc, the Polish People's Republic proclaimed forthwith was a chief signatory of the Warsaw Treaty amidst global Cold War tensions. In the wake of the 1989 events, notably through the emergence and contributions of the Solidarity movement, the communist government was dissolved and Poland re-established itself as a semi-presidential democratic republic.

Poland is a developed market,[22] and a middle power. It has the sixth largest economy in the European Union by nominal GDP and the fifth largest by GDP (PPP).[23] It provides very high standards of living, safety and economic freedom,[24][25][26] as well as free university education and a universal health care system.[27][28] The country has 17 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 15 of which are cultural.[29] Poland is a member state of the Schengen Area, European Union, European Economic Area, the United Nations, NATO, the OECD, the Three Seas Initiative and the Visegrád Group.

Contents
1 Etymology
2 History
2.1 Prehistory and protohistory
2.2 Piast dynasty
2.3 Jagiellonian dynasty
2.4 Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
2.5 Partitions
2.6 Era of insurrections
2.7 Second Polish Republic
2.8 World War II
2.9 Post-war communism
2.10 1990s to present
3 Geography
3.1 Geology
3.2 Waters
3.3 Land use
3.4 Biodiversity
3.5 Climate
4 Government and politics
4.1 Law
4.2 Foreign relations
4.3 Military
4.4 Law enforcement and emergency services
4.5 Administrative divisions
5 Economy
5.1 Tourism
5.2 Energy
5.3 Transport
5.4 Science and technology
6 Demographics
6.1 Languages
6.2 Religion
6.3 Health
6.4 Education
7 Culture
7.1 Holidays and traditions
7.2 Music
7.3 Art
7.4 Architecture
7.5 Literature
7.6 Cuisine
7.7 Fashion and design
7.8 Cinema
7.9 Media
7.10 Sports
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links
Etymology
Main article: Name of Poland
The country's native name Polska is derived from the Lechitic tribe of Western Polans, who inhabited the Warta river basin of present-day Greater Poland region starting in the mid-6th century.[30] The tribe's name itself stems from the Proto-Indo European *pleh2- (flatland) and the Proto-Slavic word pole (field).[30][31] The etymology eludes to the topography of the region and the flat landscape of Greater Poland.[32] The English name Poland was formed in the 1560s from Middle High German Pole(n) and the suffix land, denoting a people or nation.[33][34] Prior to its adoption, the Latin form Polonia was widely used throughout medieval Europe.[35]

In some languages, such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Old Norse, the country's exonym stems from Lechia, which derives from Lech, a legendary ruler of the Polish tribes (Lechites),[36] or from the Lendians who dwelled on the south-easternmost edge of present-day Lesser Poland region.[30] The origin of the tribe's name lies in the Old Polish word leda (plain), which is a cognate of the German "das Land", Spanish "landa" and English "land".[37] Initially, both names Lechia and Polonia were used interchangeably when referring to Poland by chroniclers during the Early and High Middle Ages.[38][39]

History
Main article: History of Poland
Prehistory and protohistory
Main articles: Bronze- and Iron-Age Poland, Poland in Antiquity, Early Slavs, West Slavs, Lechites, and Poland in the Early Middle Ages

Reconstruction of a Bronze Age, Lusatian culture settlement in Biskupin, 8th century BC
The first Stone Age archaic humans and Homo erectus species settled what was to become Poland approximately 500,000 years ago, though the ensuing hostile climate prevented early humans from founding more permanent encampments.[40] There is evidence that sporadic groups of gatherer-hunter Neanderthals penetrated southern Polish regions during the Eemian interglacial period (128,000–115,000 BCE) and in the subsequent millennia.[41] The arrival of Homo sapiens and anatomically modern humans coincided with the climatic discontinuity at the end of the Last Glacial Period (10,000 BC), when Poland became habitable.[42] Neolithic excavations indicated broad-ranging development in that era; the earliest evidence of European cheesemaking (5500 BC) was discovered in Polish Kuyavia,[43] and the Bronocice pot is incised with the earliest known depiction of what may be a wheeled vehicle (3400 BC).[44]

The early Bronze Age in Poland began around 2400 BC, while the Iron Age commenced in approximately 750 BC.[45] During this time, the Lusatian culture, spanning both the Bronze and Iron Ages, became particularly prominent. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement (now reconstructed as an open-air museum), dating from the Lusatian culture of the late Bronze Age, around 748 BC.[46]

Throughout antiquity (400 BC–500 AD), many distinct ancient ethnic groups populated the territory of present-day Poland, notably Celtic, Scythian, Germanic, Sarmatian, Slavic and Baltic tribes.[47] Furthermore, archaeological findings confirmed the presence of the Roman Legions.[48] These were most likely expeditionary missions sent out to protect amber trade along the Amber Road. The Polish tribes emerged in the course of the Migration Period in the mid-6th century.[49] These were predominantly West Slavic and Lechitic in origin, but also comprised assimilated ethnic groups who inhabited the area for thousands of years.[50] The earlier tribal communities may have been associated with the ancient Wielbark and Przeworsk cultures.[51][52]

Piast dynasty
Main articles: History of Poland during the Piast dynasty, Duchy of Poland (c. 960–1025), Christianization of Poland, and Kingdom of Poland (1025–1385)

Poland under the rule of Duke Mieszko I, whose acceptance of Western Christianity and the subsequent Baptism of Poland marked the beginning of statehood in 966
Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the Piast dynasty. Poland's first historically documented ruler, Mieszko I, accepted Western Christianity as the rightful religion under the auspices of the Latin Church with the Baptism of Poland in 966 AD.[53] In 1000, Boleslaus I the Brave, continuing the policy of his father Mieszko, held a diplomatic congress and established the metropolis of Gniezno followed by dioceses in Kraków, Kolobrzeg, and Wroclaw.[54] Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, assented to the creation of bishoprics and bestowed upon Boleslaus royal regalia and a replica of the Holy Lance, which were used for his coronation as the first King of Poland in circa 1025.[55] He expanded the realm considerably by seizing parts of German Lusatia, Czech Moravia, Upper Hungary and the eastern provinces.[56] However, the transition from paganism proved difficult and was not an instantaneous process for the rest of the population as evident from the pagan reaction of the 1030s.[57] His son, Mieszko II Lambert, lost the title of king and fled amidst the struggles for power in 1031, but was reinstated as duke in 1032.[58] The unrest led to the transfer of the capital to Kraków in 1038 by Casimir I the Restorer.[59]

Earliest known contemporary depiction of a Polish monarch, King Mieszko II Lambert of Poland, who ruled between 1025 and 1031
In 1076, Boleslaus II briefly re-instituted the office of king, but was banished in 1079 for murdering his opponent Bishop Stanislaus, who was then proclaimed a martyr and patron saint.[60] In 1109, Boleslaus III Wrymouth defeated the King of Germany Henry V at the Battle of Hundsfeld, thus stopping the German incursion into Poland. The clash was documented by Gallus Anonymus in Gesta principum Polonorum, the oldest Polish chronicle.[61] In 1138, Poland fragmented into several smaller principalities when Boleslaus divided his lands among his sons.[62] These comprised the Duchies of Lesser Poland, Greater Poland, Silesia, Masovia and Sandomierz, with Pomerania ruled by vassals. The division allowed each province to develop its own cultural identity and wealth, but made the country more vulnerable militarily.[63] In 1226, Konrad I of Masovia, one of the regional dukes, invited the Teutonic Knights to aid in combating the Baltic Prussian pagans; a decision that led to centuries of warfare with the Knights.[64]

In the mid-13th century, the Silesian branch of the Piast dynasty (Henry I the Bearded and Henry II the Pious) nearly succeeded in uniting the dukedoms.[65] Their efforts were hindered by the Mongols, who pillaged the southern and eastern regions of Poland, and defeated the combined Polish forces at the Battle of Legnica (1241) where Henry II was killed.[66] The Mongols raided twice more in the second-half of the century, but were defeated and driven out by the Poles. In 1264, the Statute of Kalisz, or the General Charter of Jewish Liberties, introduced unprecedented rights for the Polish Jews, leading to a nearly autonomous "nation within a nation".[67] Cities began to grow during this period and new settlements were granted town privileges under Magdeburg Law, which also favoured German migration into Poland.[68]

Casimir III the Great is the only Polish king to receive the title of Great. He built extensively during his reign, and reformed the Polish army along with the country's legal code, 1333–70.
In 1320, after an earlier unsuccessful attempt at unification by Premislaus II, Ladislaus the Short consolidated his power, took the throne and became the first king of a reunified Poland.[69] He was the first sovereign crowned at Wawel Cathedral with Szczerbiec ("Jagged Sword"), which symbolised the permanent restoration of kingship.[70] His son, Casimir III (reigned 1333–1370), gained wide recognition for improving the country's infrastructure, reforming the army and strengthening diplomacy.[71][72] He also extended royal protection to Jews, and encouraged them to settle in Poland.[71][73] Casimir hoped to build a class of educated people, especially lawyers, who could codify the country's laws and administer the courts and offices. His efforts were finally rewarded when Pope Urban V granted him permission to open the University of Kraków in 1364, one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in Europe.[74] Under his authority, Poland was transformed into a major European power.[75]

The Black Death, a plague that ravaged Europe from 1347 to 1351, did not significantly affect Poland, and the country was spared from a major outbreak of the disease.[76][77] The reason for this was the decision of Casimir to quarantine the nation's borders. Furthermore, the concept of Golden Liberty began to develop under his rule – in return for military support, the king made a series of concessions to the nobility and establishing their legal status as superior to that of the townsfolk.[78] When Casimir the Great died in 1370, leaving no legitimate male heir, the Piast dynasty came to an end.[79]

In November 1370, Casimir's nephew and closest male relative, Louis of Anjou, was crowned king at Wawel.[80] He ruled Poland, Hungary and Croatia in a personal union. Like his uncle, Louis I had no sons and persuaded his subjects to acknowledge the right of his daughters to succeed him in both Poland and Hungary by granting privileges.[81] Upon his death and a two-year interregnum, his younger daughter Hedwig (in Poland known as Jadwiga) became the first female monarch of the Kingdom of Poland in 1384.[82] However, she was stylised as "king" during her reign because the Polish law had no provision for a queen regnant, but did not specify that the monarch had to be male.[83][84]

Jagiellonian dynasty
Main articles: History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty, Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), and Renaissance in Poland

The Battle of Grunwald was fought against the German Order of Teutonic Knights, and resulted in a decisive victory for the Kingdom of Poland, 15 July 1410.
In 1385, Jadwiga was expected to marry William Habsburg of Austria, but the noble lords were apprehensive about the match believing that it would not secure national interests against the Luxembourgs, who controlled Bohemia and Brandenburg.[85] She eventually wedded the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila (Wladyslaw II Jagiello), thus forming the Jagiellonian dynasty (1386–1572) and the Polish–Lithuanian union that spanned the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era. The partnership brought the vast multi-ethnic Lithuanian territories into Poland's sphere of influence and proved beneficial for the Poles and Lithuanians, who coexisted in one of the largest European political entities of the time.[86]

In the Baltic Sea region, the struggle of Poland and Lithuania with the Teutonic Knights continued and culminated at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, where a combined Polish-Lithuanian army inflicted a decisive victory against them.[87] In 1466, after the Thirteen Years' War, King Casimir IV Jagiellon gave royal consent to the Peace of Thorn, which created the future Duchy of Prussia under Polish suzerainty.[88] The Jagiellonian dynasty at one point also established dynastic control over the kingdoms of Bohemia (1471 onwards) and Hungary.[89][90] In the south, Poland confronted the Ottoman Empire and the Crimean Tatars, and in the east helped Lithuania fight Russia.[91]

Poland was developing as a feudal state, with a predominantly agricultural economy and an increasingly powerful landed nobility. In 1493, John I Albert sanctioned the creation of a bicameral parliament composed of a lower house, the Sejm, and an upper house, the Senate.[92] The Nihil novi act adopted by the Polish General Sejm in 1505, transferred most of the legislative power from the monarch to the parliament, an event which marked the beginning of the period known as "Golden Liberty", when the state was ruled by the "free and equal" Polish nobility.[93]

Wawel Castle in Kraków, seat of Polish kings from 1038 until the capital was moved to Warsaw in 1596. The royal residence is an example of Renaissance architecture in Poland.
The Protestant Reformation movements made deep inroads into Polish Christianity, which resulted in the establishment of policies promoting religious tolerance, unique in Europe at that time.[94] This tolerance allowed the country to avoid most of the religious turmoil that spread over Europe during the 16th century.[94] In Poland, Nontrinitarian Christianity became the doctrine of the so-called Polish Brethren, who separated from their Calvinist denomination and became the co-founders of global Unitarianism.[95]

The European Renaissance evoked under kings Sigismund I the Old and Sigismund II Augustus a sense of urgency in the need to promote a cultural awakening.[96] During this period Polish culture and the nation's economy flourished; changes and contributions to architecture, cuisine, language and customs were made at the behest of Sigismund the Old's wife, the Italian-born Bona Sforza, daughter of the Duke of Milan.[97] In 1543, Nicolaus Copernicus, an astronomer from Torun, published his epochal work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) and thereby became the first proponent of a predictive mathematical model confirming the heliocentric theory, which became the accepted basic model for the practice of modern astronomy.[98]

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
Main articles: History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795), Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

The Warsaw Confederation extended religious freedoms and tolerance in the Commonwealth, and was the first of its kind act in Europe, 28 January 1573.
The 1569 Union of Lublin established the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, a more closely unified federal state with an elective monarchy, but which was governed largely by the nobility.[99] The Warsaw Confederation (1573) guaranteed religious freedom for the Polish nobles (szlachta) and townsfolk (mieszczanie).[100] However, the peasants (chlopi) were still subject to severe limitations imposed on them by the nobility, and confined to private folwark farmsteads.[67] The establishment of the Commonwealth coincided with a period of stability and prosperity, with the union thereafter becoming a European power and a major cultural entity, occupying approximately 1 million km2 (390,000 sq mi) after the Truce of Deulino.[101] It was the largest state in Europe at the time.[102] Poland was the dominant partner and acted as an agent for the dissemination of Western culture, Catholicism and Polish traditions through Polonization into areas of North-Eastern Europe which it controlled following the union. Certain factions of Lithuanian nobility were apprehensive about the merger, fearing that it would lead to the loss of Lithuania's cultural identity.[103]

In 1573, Henry de Valois, son of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, was proclaimed King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in the first election.[104] He hesitantly instituted the Henrician Articles which determined the principles of royal governance, thus further limiting the power of a monarch.[105] Henry's reign was brief; he was dethroned in 1575 after fleeing to succeed his brother, Charles IX, in France.[106] His successor, Stephen Báthory from Transylvania, proved to be a capable military commander. Báthory's involvement alongside Sweden and successful campaign in the Livonian War against Ivan the Terrible granted Poland more territories in the Baltic states.[107]

The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent after the Truce of Deulino. During the first half of the 17th century, the Commonwealth covered an area of about 1,000,000 square kilometres (390,000 sq mi).
In 1592, Sigismund III of Poland succeeded his father, John Vasa, in Sweden.[108] Under his authority, the Commonwealth and Sweden temporarily united in what was known as the Polish-Swedish union. Sigismund was a talented figure, but a Catholic fanatic and a despot who hoped to reintroduce absolutism.[109] He was a strong advocate of Counter-Reformation, funded the Jesuits, and furtively supported repressions against the Protestants and other religious minorities. In 1599, he was deposed in Sweden by his Protestant uncle Charles, which ended the union.[110] Sigismund's long reign in Poland was described as the Silver Age due to his investments and patronage over artists, scholars and architects.[111] In politics, he undermined parliament and imposed expansionist policies.[112]

Taking advantage of a civil war in neighbouring Russia, Sigismund invaded the country in 1609.[113] In 1610, the Polish army and winged hussar units under the command of Hetman Stanislaw Zólkiewski seized Moscow after defeating the Russians at the Battle of Klushino.[114] The humiliated Vasili IV of Russia was caged and sent to Poland where he paid tribute in Warsaw and was later murdered in captivity.[115] The Poles were eventually driven out of ruined Moscow after two years by a local uprising. Sigismund also countered the Ottoman Empire in the southeast; at Khotyn in 1621 the Commonwealth forces under Jan Karol Chodkiewicz achieved a decisive victory against the Turks.[116] Their defeat and subsequent Janissary revolt marked the downfall of Sultan Osman II.[117] Sigismund's liberal son, Ladislaus IV Vasa, successfully defended Poland's territorial possessions, but his death ended the centuries-long era of relative stability.[118]

King John III Sobieski defeated the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Vienna on 12 September 1683.
From the middle of the 17th century, the nobles' democracy, suffering from internal disorder, gradually declined, thereby leaving the once powerful Commonwealth vulnerable.[119] The Polish and Catholic domination of present-day Ukraine resulted in the 1648 Khmelnytsky Uprising, which engulfed much of the eastern parts of the country and led to the creation of a Ukrainian Cossack state allied with Russia.[120] This was followed by the Swedish Deluge during the Second Northern War, which marched through the Polish heartlands and decimated the country's population and infrastructure.[121] Finding itself subjected to almost constant warfare, the Commonwealth fell into decline, further weakened when Prussia declared independence in 1657.[122] The government became ineffective as a result of internal conflicts, rebellious confederations and corrupted legislative processes.[123] However, under John III Sobieski the Commonwealth's military prowess was re-established, and in 1683 Polish forces played a major role in the Battle of Vienna against the Ottoman Army.[124]

The lesser nobility fell under the control of magnates, and this, compounded with two relatively weak kings of the Saxon Wettin dynasty, Augustus II and Augustus III, as well as the rise of neighbouring countries after the Great Northern War only served to worsen the Commonwealth's plight.[125] Despite this, the personal union of Poland and Saxony gave rise to the Commonwealth's first reform movement, and laid the foundations for the Polish Enlightenment.[126] The fundamental internal reforms brought a much improved economy, significant population growth and far-reaching progress in the areas of education, intellectual life, art, and especially toward the end of the period, evolution of the social and political system. The most populous capital city of Warsaw replaced Gdansk (Danzig) as the leading centre of commerce, and the role of the more prosperous urban population increased.[127]

Partitions
Main articles: History of Poland (1795–1918) and Partitions of Poland

Stanislaus II Augustus, the last King of Poland, ascended to the throne in 1764 and reigned until his abdication on 25 November 1795.
The royal election of 1764 resulted in the elevation of Stanislaus II Augustus (a Polish aristocrat from the Poniatowski family, connected to the Familia faction of magnates) to the monarchy.[128] His candidacy was extensively funded by his sponsor and former lover, Empress Catherine II of Russia.[129] The new king spent much of his reign maneuvering between his desire to implement necessary reforms to save the country from internal disorder, and the necessity to remain in a political relationship and at peace with surrounding states.[130] This led to the formation of the 1768 Bar Confederation, a rebellion of nobles directed against the Polish king and all external influence, which ineptly aimed to preserve Poland's sovereignty and privileges held by the nobility.[131]

The failed attempts at reform as well as the domestic turmoil caused by the Confederation proved the country's weakness and provoked its neighbours to intervene.[132] In 1772 the First Partition of the Commonwealth by Prussia, Russia and Austria took place; an act which the Partition Sejm, under considerable duress, eventually "ratified" fait accompli.[133] Disregarding the territorial losses, in 1773 the king established a plan of the most necessary reforms, in which the Commission of National Education, the first government education authority in Europe, was inaugurated.[134] Corporal punishment of schoolchildren was officially prohibited in 1783. Poniatowski was the head figure of the Polish Enlightenment, encouraged the development of industries and embraced "republican" Neoclassical architecture.[135] For his contributions to the arts and sciences he was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Society, where he became the first royal member outside British royalty.[136]

Constitution of 3 May, enactment ceremony inside the Senate Chamber at the Warsaw Royal Castle, 1791
The Great Sejm (1788–1792) convened by Stanislaus Augustus successfully adopted in 1791 the 3 May Constitution, the first set of modern supreme national laws in Europe.[137] However, this document, accused by detractors of harbouring revolutionary sympathies, generated strong opposition from the Commonwealth's aristocracy and conservatives as well as from Catherine, who, determined to prevent the rebirth of a strong Commonwealth set about planning the final dismemberment of the Polish-Lithuanian state. Russia was aided in achieving its goal when the Targowica Confederation, an organisation of Polish nobles, appealed to the Empress for help. In May 1792, Russian forces crossed the Commonwealth's eastern frontier, thus beginning the Polish–Russian War.[138]

The defensive war fought by the Poles ended prematurely when the King, convinced of the futility of resistance, capitulated and joined the Targowica Confederation, hoping to save the country. The Confederation then took over the government. Russia and Prussia, fearing the reemergence of a Polish state, understanding, that despite the current influence they still cannot control the country, arranged for, and in 1793 executed, the Second Partition of the Commonwealth, which left the country deprived of so much territory that it was practically incapable of independent existence. In 1795, following the failed Kosciuszko Uprising, the Commonwealth was partitioned one last time by all three of its more powerful neighbours, and with this, effectively ceased to exist.[139] The 18-century British statesman and philosopher Edmund Burke summed up the partitions: "No wise or honest man can approve of that partition, or can contemplate it without prognosticating great mischief from it to all countries at some future time".[140]

Era of insurrections
Main articles: Austrian Partition, Prussian Partition, and Russian Partition

Tadeusz Kosciuszko was a veteran and hero of both the Polish and American wars of independence.[141]
Poles rebelled several times against the partitioners, particularly near the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. An unsuccessful attempt at defending Poland's sovereignty took place in 1794 during the Kosciuszko Uprising, where a popular and distinguished general Tadeusz Kosciuszko, who had several years earlier served under Washington in the American Revolutionary War, led Polish insurrectionists. Despite the victory at the Battle of Raclawice, his ultimate defeat ended Poland's independent existence for 123 years.[142]

In 1807, Napoleon I of France temporarily recreated a Polish state as the satellite Duchy of Warsaw, after a successful 1806 uprising against Prussian rule. In accordance with the Treaty of Tilsit, the duchy was ruled by his ally, Frederick Augustus I of Saxony. The Polish troops and generals aided Napoleon throughout the Napoleonic Wars, particularly those under Józef Poniatowski, who became the only foreign Marshal of the French Empire shortly before his death at the Battle of Leipzig. In the aftermath of Napoleon's exile, Poland was again split between the victorious powers at the Congress of Vienna in 1815.[143] The eastern part was ruled by the Russian tsar as Congress Poland, which temporarily held a liberal constitution. The Prussian-controlled territory of western Poland came under increased Germanization. Thus, in the 19th century, only Habsburg-ruled Austrian Poland and the Free City of Kraków in the south, allowed free Polish culture to flourish.

The partitions of Poland, carried out by the Kingdom of Prussia (blue), the Russian Empire (brown), and the Habsburg Monarchy (green) in 1772, 1793 and 1795
In 1830, the November Uprising began in Warsaw when, led by Lieutenant Piotr Wysocki, young non-commissioned officers at the Officer Cadet School rebelled. Although the numerically smaller Polish forces successfully defeated several Russian armies, they were left unsupported by France and the newborn United States. With Prussia and Austria deliberately prohibiting the import of military supplies through their territories, the Poles accepted that the uprising was doomed to failure. After the defeat, the semi-independent Congress Poland lost its constitution, army and legislative assembly, and its autonomy was abolished.[144]

During the European Spring of Nations, Poles took up arms in the Greater Poland Uprising of 1848 to resist the Prussians. Initially, the uprising manifested itself in the form of civil disobedience but eventually turned into an armed struggle when the Prussian military was sent in to pacify the region. Subsequently, the uprising was suppressed and the semi-autonomous Grand Duchy of Posen, created from the Prussian partition of Poland, was incorporated into Prussia, and in 1871 into the German Empire.[145]

In 1863, a new Polish uprising against Russia began. The January Uprising started out as a spontaneous protest by young Poles against conscription into the Imperial Russian Army. However, the insurrectionists, despite being joined by high-ranking Polish–Lithuanian officers and numerous politicians, were still severely outnumbered and lacking in foreign support. They were forced to resort to guerrilla warfare tactics and failed to win any major military victories. Consequently, the Poles resorted to fostering economic and cultural self-improvement. Congress Poland was rapidly industrialised towards the end of the 19th century, and successively transformed into the Empire's wealthiest and most developed subject.[146][147]

Second Polish Republic
Main articles: History of Poland (1918–39), Battle of Warsaw (1920), and Second Polish Republic

Chief of State Marshal Józef Pilsudski was a hero of the Polish independence campaign and the nation's premiere statesman from 1918 until his death on 12 May 1935.
Following World War I all the Allies agreed on the reconstitution of Poland that United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in Point 13 of his Fourteen Points. A total of 2 million Polish troops fought with the armies of the three occupying powers, and 450,000 died. Shortly after the armistice with Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita Polska). It reaffirmed its independence after a series of military conflicts, the most notable being the Polish–Soviet War (1919–21) when Poland inflicted a crushing defeat on the Red Army at the Battle of Warsaw, an event which is considered to have halted the advance of Communism into Europe and forced Vladimir Lenin to rethink his objective of achieving global socialism. The event is often referred to as the "Miracle at the Vistula".[148]

During this period, Poland successfully managed to fuse the territories of the three former partitioning powers into a cohesive nation state. Railways were restructured to direct traffic towards Warsaw instead of the former imperial capitals, a new network of national roads was gradually built up and a major seaport, Gdynia, was opened on the Baltic Coast, so as to allow Polish exports and imports to bypass the politically charged Free City of Danzig. Also, the Polish government embarked on the creation of the Central Industrial Region (Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy). The project's goal was to create a heavy industrial center in the middle of the country, which included steel mills, power plants and factories.

Map of Poland during the Interwar period, 1921–39
The inter-war period heralded in a new era of Polish politics. Whilst Polish political activists had faced heavy censorship in the decades up until the First World War, the country now found itself trying to establish a new political tradition. For this reason, many exiled Polish activists, such as Ignacy Paderewski (who would later become prime minister) returned home to help; a significant number of them then went on to take key positions in the newly formed political and governmental structures. Tragedy struck in 1922 when Gabriel Narutowicz, inaugural holder of the presidency, was assassinated at the Zacheta Gallery in Warsaw by a painter and right-wing nationalist Eligiusz Niewiadomski.[149]

In 1926, a May coup, led by the hero of the Polish independence campaign Marshal Józef Pilsudski, turned rule of the Second Polish Republic over to the nonpartisan Sanacja (Healing) movement in an effort to prevent radical political organizations on both the left and the right from destabilizing the country.[d] The movement functioned with relative stability until Pilsudski's death in 1935. Following Marshall Pilsudski's death, Sanation split into several competing factions.[153] By the late 1930s, due to increased threats posed by political extremism inside the country, the Polish government became increasingly heavy-handed, banning a number of radical organizations, including communist and ultra-nationalist political parties, which threatened the stability of the country.[154]

World War II
Main articles: History of Poland (1939–45), Invasion of Poland, Polish contribution to World War II, and War crimes in occupied Poland during World War II

Polish Army 7TP tanks on military manoeuvres shortly before the invasion of Poland in 1939
World War II began with the Nazi German invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, followed by the Soviet invasion of Poland on 17 September. On 28 September 1939, Warsaw fell. As agreed in the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Poland was split into two zones, one occupied by Nazi Germany, the other by the Soviet Union. In 1939–41, the Soviets deported hundreds of thousands of Poles. The Soviet NKVD executed thousands of Polish prisoners of war (inter alia Katyn massacre) ahead of the Operation Barbarossa.[155] German planners had in November 1939 called for "the complete destruction of all Poles" and their fate as outlined in the genocidal Generalplan Ost.[156]

Polish intelligence operatives proved extremely valuable to the Allies, providing much of the intelligence from Europe and beyond,[157] and Polish code breakers were responsible for cracking the Enigma cypher.[e]

Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution in Europe[f] and its troops served both the Polish Government in Exile in the west and Soviet leadership in the east. Polish troops played an important role in the Normandy, Italian and North African Campaigns and are particularly remembered for the Battle of Monte Cassino.[162][163] In the east, the Soviet-backed Polish 1st Army distinguished itself in the battles for Warsaw and Berlin.[164]

Pilots of the 303 Polish Fighter Squadron during the Battle of Britain, October 1940
The wartime resistance movement, and the Armia Krajowa (Home Army), fought against German occupation. It was one of the three largest resistance movements of the entire war,[g] and encompassed a range of clandestine activities, which functioned as an underground state complete with degree-awarding universities and a court system.[171] The resistance was loyal to the exiled government and generally resented the idea of a communist Poland; for this reason, in the summer of 1944 it initiated Operation Tempest, of which the Warsaw Uprising that begun on 1 August 1944 is the best known operation.[164][172]

Nazi German forces under orders from Adolf Hitler set up six German extermination camps in occupied Poland, including Treblinka, Majdanek and Auschwitz. The Germans transported millions of Jews from across occupied Europe to be murdered in those camps.[173][174]

Map of the Holocaust in German occupied Poland with deportation routes and massacre sites. Major ghettos are marked with yellow stars. Nazi extermination camps are marked with white skulls in black squares. The border in 1941 between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union is marked in red.
Altogether, 3 million Polish Jews[175][176] – approximately 90% of Poland's pre-war Jewry – and between 1.8 and 2.8 million ethnic Poles[177][178][179] were killed during the German occupation of Poland, including between 50,000 and 100,000 members of the Polish intelligentsia – academics, doctors, lawyers, nobility and priesthood. During the Warsaw Uprising alone, over 150,000 Polish civilians were killed, most were murdered by the Germans during the Wola and Ochota massacres.[180][181] Around 150,000 Polish civilians were killed by Soviets between 1939 and 1941 during the Soviet Union's occupation of eastern Poland (Kresy), and another estimated 100,000 Poles were murdered by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) between 1943 and 1944 in what became known as the Wolyn Massacres.[182][183] Of all the countries in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: around 6 million perished – more than one-sixth of Poland's pre-war population – half of them Polish Jews.[21][184][185] About 90% of deaths were non-military in nature.[186]

In 1945, Poland's borders were shifted westwards. Over two million Polish inhabitants of Kresy were expelled along the Curzon Line by Stalin.[187] The western border became the Oder-Neisse line. As a result, Poland's territory was reduced by 20%, or 77,500 square kilometres (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced the migration of millions of other people, most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews.[188][189][190]

Post-war communism
Main articles: History of Poland (1945–1989), Polish People's Republic, History of Solidarity, and Polish Round Table Agreement

At High Noon, 4 June 1989 — political poster featuring Gary Cooper to encourage votes for the Solidarity party in the 1989 elections
At the insistence of Joseph Stalin, the Yalta Conference sanctioned the formation of a new provisional pro-Communist coalition government in Moscow, which ignored the Polish government-in-exile based in London. This action angered many Poles who considered it a betrayal by the Allies. In 1944, Stalin had made guarantees to Churchill and Roosevelt that he would maintain Poland's sovereignty and allow democratic elections to take place. However, upon achieving victory in 1945, the elections organized by the occupying Soviet authorities were falsified and were used to provide a veneer of legitimacy for Soviet hegemony over Polish affairs. The Soviet Union instituted a new communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. As elsewhere in Communist Europe, the Soviet influence over Poland was met with armed resistance from the outset which continued into the 1950s.

Despite widespread objections, the new Polish government accepted the Soviet annexation of the pre-war eastern regions of Poland[191] (in particular the cities of Wilno and Lwów) and agreed to the permanent garrisoning of Red Army units on Poland's territory. Military alignment within the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War came about as a direct result of this change in Poland's political culture. In the European scene, it came to characterize the full-fledged integration of Poland into the brotherhood of communist nations.

The new communist government took control with the adoption of the Small Constitution on 19 February 1947. The Polish People's Republic (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956, after the death of Boleslaw Bierut, the régime of Wladyslaw Gomulka became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. Collectivization in the Polish People's Republic failed. A similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under Edward Gierek, but most of the time persecution of anti-communist opposition groups persisted. Despite this, Poland was at the time considered to be one of the least oppressive states of the Eastern Bloc.[192]

Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" ("Solidarnosc"), which over time became a political force. Despite persecution and imposition of martial law in 1981, it eroded the dominance of the Polish United Workers' Party and by 1989 had triumphed in Poland's first partially free and democratic parliamentary elections since the end of the Second World War. Lech Walesa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity movement heralded the collapse of communist regimes and parties across Europe.

1990s to present
Main articles: History of Poland (1989–present) and 2004 enlargement of the European Union

Poland became a member state of the European Union on 1 May 2004.
A shock therapy programme, initiated by Leszek Balcerowicz in the early 1990s, enabled the country to transform its socialist-style planned economy into a market economy. As with other post-communist countries, Poland suffered declines in social and economic standards,[193] but it became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels, which it achieved by 1995 thanks largely to its booming economy.[194]

Most visibly, there were numerous improvements in human rights, such as freedom of speech, internet freedom (no censorship), civil liberties (1st class) and political rights (1st class), as ranked by Freedom House non-governmental organization. In 1991, Poland became a member of the Visegrád Group[195] and joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance in 1999[196] along with the Czech Republic and Hungary. Poles then voted to join the European Union in a referendum in June 2003, with Poland becoming a full member on 1 May 2004.[197]

Flowers in front of the Presidential Palace following the death of Poland's top government officials in a plane crash over Smolensk in Russia, 10 April 2010
Poland joined the Schengen Area in 2007,[198] as a result of which, the country's borders with other member states of the European Union have been dismantled, allowing for full freedom of movement within most of the EU.[199] In contrast to this, a section of Poland's eastern border now constitutes the external EU border with Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. That border has become increasingly well protected, and has led in part to the coining of the phrase 'Fortress Europe', in reference to the seeming 'impossibility' of gaining entry to the EU for citizens of the former Soviet Union.

In an effort to strengthen military cooperation with its neighbors, Poland set up the Visegrád Battlegroup with Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, with a total of 3,000 troops ready for deployment.[200] Also, in eastern Poland, it formed the LITPOLUKRBRIG battle groups with Lithuania and Ukraine. These battle groups will operate outside of NATO and within the European defense initiative framework.[201]

On 10 April 2010, the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, along with 89 other high-ranking Polish officials died in a plane crash near Smolensk, Russia. The president's party was on their way to attend an annual service of commemoration for the victims of the Katyn massacre when the tragedy took place.[202]

In 2011, the ruling Civic Platform won parliamentary elections.[203] Poland joined the European Space Agency in 2012,[204] as well as organised the UEFA Euro 2012 (along with Ukraine).[205] In 2013, Poland also became a member of the Development Assistance Committee.[206] In 2014, the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, was chosen to be President of the European Council, and resigned as prime minister.[207]

The 2015 and 2019 elections were won by the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS),[208][209] resulting in increased friction between Poland and the EU.[210][211] In December 2017, Mateusz Morawiecki was sworn in as the new Prime Minister, succeeding Beata Szydlo, in office since 2015. They both represented ruling Law and Justice party, led by party chairman Jaroslaw Kaczynski.[212] President Andrzej Duda, supported by Law and Justice party, was narrowly re-elected in the 2020 presidential election.[213]

Geography
Main article: Geography of Poland

Topographic map of Poland
Poland's vast territory covers approximately 312,696 km2 (120,733 sq mi), of which 98.52% is dry land and 1.48% is water.[214] Extending across several geographical regions, the country is the 9th-largest by area in Europe and 69th largest in the world. Topographically, Poland is diverse and has access to the sea, the mountains and open terrain.[215] Although most of the central parts of the country are flat, there is an abundance of lakes, rivers, hills, swamps, beaches, islands and forests elsewhere.[215]

In the north-west is the Baltic seacoast spanning from the Bay of Pomerania to the Gulf of Gdansk. The coast is marked by several spits, coastal lakes (former bays that have been cut off from the sea), and dunes.[216] The largely straight coastline is indented by the Szczecin Lagoon, the Bay of Puck, and the Vistula Lagoon.

The central and northern parts of the country lie within the North European Plain. Rising above these lowlands is a geographical region comprising four hilly districts of moraines and moraine-dammed lakes formed during and after the Pleistocene ice age, notably the Pomeranian Lake District, the Greater Polish Lake District, the Kashubian Lake District, and the Masurian Lake District.[217] The Masurian Lake District is the largest of the four and covers much of north-eastern Poland. The lake districts form a series of moraine belts along the southern shore of the Baltic Sea.[217]

South of the Northern European Plain are the regions of Lusatia, Silesia and Masovia, which are marked by broad ice-age river valleys.[218] The extreme south of Poland is mountainous; it runs from the Sudetes in the west to the Carpathian Mountains in the east. The highest part of the Carpathian massif is the Tatra Mountain range, along Poland's southern border.[219]

Geology

Morskie Oko at the foothill of Tatra Mountains in southern Poland which average 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) in elevation
The geological structure of Poland has been shaped by the continental collision of Europe and Africa over the past 60 million years and, more recently, by the Quaternary glaciations of northern Europe.[220] Both processes shaped the Sudetes and the Carpathian Mountains. The moraine landscape of northern Poland contains soils made up mostly of sand or loam, while the ice age river valleys of the south often contain loess. The Polish Jura, the Pieniny, and the Western Tatras consist of limestone, whereas the High Tatras, the Beskids, and the Karkonosze mountain ranges are made up mainly of granite and basalts. The Polish Jura Chain has some of the oldest rock formations on the continent of Europe.[221]

Poland has over 70 mountains over 2,000 metres (6,600 feet) in elevation, all situated in the Tatras.[222] Poland's highest point is the north-western summit of Mount Rysy at 2,499 metres (8,199 ft) in elevation. At its foot lie the mountain lakes of Czarny Staw (Black Lake) and Morskie Oko (Eye of the Sea), both naturally-made tarns.[223] Other notable uplands include the Pieniny and Holy Cross Mountains, the Table Mountains noted for their unusual rock formations, the Bieszczady in the far southeast of the country in which the highest peak is Tarnica at 1,346 metres (4,416 ft),[224] and the Gorce Mountains whose highest point is Turbacz at 1,310 metres (4,298 ft).[225] The highest point of the Sudeten massif is Mount Sniezka (1,603.3 metres (5,260 ft)), shared with the Czech Republic.[226]

The Table Mountains are part of the Sudetes range in Lower Silesia.
The lowest point in Poland – at 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) below sea level – is at Raczki Elblaskie, near Elblag in the Vistula Delta.[227]

In the Zaglebie Dabrowskie (the Coal Fields of Dabrowa) region in the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland is an area of sparsely vegetated sand known as the Bledów Desert. It covers an area of 32 square kilometres (12 sq mi).[228] It is not a natural desert and was formed by human activity from the Middle Ages onwards.[229]

The Baltic Sea activity in Slowinski National Park created sand dunes which in the course of time separated the bay from the sea creating two lakes. As waves and wind carry sand inland the dunes slowly move, at a rate of 3 to 10 metres (9.8 to 32.8 ft) per year. Some dunes reach the height of up to 30 metres (98 ft). The highest peak of the park is Rowokol at 115 metres or 377 feet above sea level.[230]

Waters
Main article: Rivers of Poland

The Vistula is the longest river in Poland, flowing the entire length of the country for 1,047 kilometres (651 mi).
The longest rivers are the Vistula (Polish: Wisla), 1,047 kilometres (651 mi) long; the Oder (Polish: Odra) which forms part of Poland's western border, 854 kilometres (531 mi) long; its tributary, the Warta, 808 kilometres (502 mi) long; and the Bug, a tributary of the Vistula, 772 kilometres (480 mi) long. The Vistula and the Oder flow into the Baltic Sea, as do numerous smaller rivers in Pomerania.[231] Poland's lengthy waterways have been used since early times for navigation; the Vikings ventured up the Polish rivers in their longships.[232] In the Middle Ages and in early modern times, the shipment of tangible goods down the Vistula toward Gdansk and onward to other parts of Europe took on great importance.[233]

With almost ten thousand closed bodies of water covering more than 1 hectare (2.47 acres) each, Poland has one of the highest numbers of lakes in the world. In Europe, only Finland has a greater density of lakes.[234] The largest lakes, covering more than 100 square kilometres (39 sq mi), are Lake Sniardwy and Lake Mamry in Masuria as well as Lake Lebsko and Lake Drawsko in Pomerania. The lake with the greatest depth—of more than 100 metres (328 ft)—is Lake Hancza in the Wigry Lake District, east of Masuria in Podlaskie Voivodeship.

The Masurian Lake District, located in the Masuria region of Poland, contains more than 2,000 lakes.
The Polish Baltic coast is approximately 770 kilometres (478 mi) long and extends from Swinoujscie on the islands of Usedom and Wolin in the west to Krynica Morska on the Vistula Spit in the east.[235] For the most part, Poland has a smooth coastline, which has been shaped by the continual movement of sand by currents and winds. This continual erosion and deposition has formed cliffs, dunes, and spits, many of which have migrated landwards to close off former lagoons, such as Lebsko Lake in the Slowinski National Park.

The largest spits are Hel Peninsula and the Vistula Spit. The coast line is varied also by Szczecin and Vistula Lagoons and several lakes, including Jamno. The largest Polish Baltic island is Wolin, located within Wolin National Park. The largest sea harbours are Szczecin, Swinoujscie, Gdansk, Gdynia, Police and Kolobrzeg and the main coastal resorts – Swinoujscie, Miedzydzdroje, Kolobrzeg, Leba, Sopot, Wladyslawowo and the Hel Peninsula.

In the valley of Pilica river in Tomaszów Mazowiecki there is a unique natural karst spring of water containing calcium salts, that is an object of protection at Blue Springs Nature Reserve in the Sulejów Landscape Park. The red waves are absorbed by water, hence only blue and green are reflected from the bottom of the spring, giving the water atypical colour.[236]

Land use

Wheat fields in Greater Poland
Forests cover about 29.6% of Poland's land area based on international standards.[237] Its overall percentage is still increasing. Forests of Poland are managed by the national program of reforestation (KPZL), aiming at an increase of forest-cover to 33% in 2050. The largest forest complex in Poland is Lower Silesian Wilderness.[237]

More than 1% of Poland's territory, 3,145 square kilometres (1,214 sq mi), is protected within 23 Polish national parks.[238] Three more national parks are projected for Masuria, the Polish Jura, and the eastern Beskids. In addition, wetlands along lakes and rivers in central Poland are legally protected, as are coastal areas in the north. There are 123 areas designated as landscape parks, along with numerous nature reserves and other protected areas under the Natura 2000 network.[239]

In 2017, approximately 16,400,000 hectares (164,000 km2) of land was occupied by farms and farmsteads, over half of Poland's total area.[240]

Biodiversity

Bialowieza Forest, an ancient woodland in eastern Poland and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to 800 wild wisent.
Phytogeographically, Poland belongs to the Central European province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, the territory of Poland belongs to three Palearctic Ecoregions of the continental forest spanning Central and Northern European temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregions, as well as the Carpathian montane conifer forest. The most common deciduous trees found across the country are oak, maple, and beech; the most common conifers are pine, spruce, and fir.[241] An estimated 68.7% of all forests are coniferous.[242]

Poland has historically been home to rare species of animals, as well as the two largest European mammals: the wisent (zubr) and aurochs (tur). The last aurochs of Europe became extinct in 1627 in the Polish Jaktorów Forest, while the wisent survived until the 20th century only at Bialowieza. It has been since reintroduced to other countries.[243] Other wild species include the brown bear in Bialowieza, in the Tatras, and in the Beskids; the gray wolf and the Eurasian lynx in various forests; the moose in northern Poland; and the beaver in Masuria, Pomerania, and Podlaskie.[244]

Poland is host to the largest white stork population in Europe.[245]
Game animals such as red deer, roe deer, and wild boar are found in most woodlands. Eastern Poland abounds in ancient woods, like the Bialowieza Forest, that have not been disturbed by human or industrial activity. There are also large forested areas in the mountains, Greater Poland, Pomerania, Lubusz Land, and Lower Silesia. The Lubusz Voivodeship is currently the most arboraceous province in the country; 52% of its territory is occupied by forests.[246]

Poland is also a significant breeding ground for a variety of European migratory birds.[247] One quarter of the global population of white storks (40,000 breeding pairs) live in Poland,[248] particularly in the lake districts and the wetlands along the Biebrza, the Narew, and the Warta, which are part of nature reserves or national parks.

Climate

Average annual temperatures
The climate is mostly temperate throughout the country. The climate is oceanic in the north-west and becomes gradually warmer and continental towards the south-east. Summers are generally warm, with average temperatures between 18 and 30 °C (64.4 and 86.0 °F) depending on the region. Winters are rather cold, with average temperatures around 3 °C (37.4 °F) in the northwest and -6 °C (21 °F) in the northeast. Precipitation falls throughout the year, although, especially in the east, winter is drier than summer.[249]

The warmest region in Poland is Lower Silesia (Lower Silesian Voivodeship) in the southwest of the country, where temperatures in the summer average between 24 and 32 °C (75 and 90 °F) but can go as high as 34 to 39 °C (93.2 to 102.2 °F) on some days in the warmest months of July and August. The warmest cities in Poland are Tarnów in Lesser Poland, and Wroclaw in Lower Silesia. The average temperatures in Wroclaw are 20 °C (68 °F) in the summer and 0 °C (32.0 °F) in the winter, but Tarnów has the longest summer in all of Poland, which lasts for 115 days, from mid-May to mid-September. The coldest region of Poland is in the northeast, around the area of Suwalki within the Podlaskie Voivodeship, where the climate is affected by cold fronts coming from Scandinavia and Siberia. The average temperature in the winter in Podlaskie ranges from -6 to -4 °C (21 to 25 °F). The biggest impact of the oceanic climate is observed in Swinoujscie and Baltic Sea seashore area from Police to Slupsk.[250]

Average daily maximum and minimum temperatures for the largest cities in Poland[251]
Location July (°C) July (°F) January (°C) January (°F)
Warsaw 25/14 77/58 1/-4 33/24
Kraków 25/13 77/56 1/-5 33/23
Wroclaw 26/14 78/57 3/-3 37/26
Poznan 25/14 77/57 2/–3 35/26
Gdansk 21/13 71/55 1/-4 34/25
Government and politics
Main article: Politics of Poland
Andrzej Sebastian Duda
Andrzej Duda
President
Mateusz Jakub Morawiecki
Mateusz Morawiecki
Prime Minister
Poland is a representative democracy, with a president as the head of state.[252][253] The government structure centers on the Council of Ministers, led by a prime minister. The president appoints the cabinet according to the proposals of the prime minister, typically from the majority coalition in the Sejm. The president is elected by popular vote every five years. The current president is Andrzej Duda and the prime minister is Mateusz Morawiecki.[254]

Polish voters elect a bicameral parliament consisting of a 460-member lower house (Sejm) and a 100-member Senate (Senat). The Sejm is elected under proportional representation according to the d'Hondt method, a method similar to that used in many parliamentary political systems. The Senat, on the other hand, is elected under the first-past-the-post voting method, with one senator being returned from each of the 100 constituencies.[255]

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament.
With the exception of ethnic minority parties, only candidates of political parties receiving at least 5% of the total national vote can enter the Sejm. When sitting in a joint session, members of the Sejm and Senat form the National Assembly (the Zgromadzenie Narodowe). The National Assembly is formed on three occasions: when a new president takes the oath of office; when an indictment against the President of the Republic is brought to the State Tribunal (Trybunal Stanu); and when a president's permanent incapacity to exercise his duties due to the state of his health is declared. To date, only the first instance has occurred.[256]

The judicial branch plays an important role in decision-making. Its major institutions include the Supreme Court (Sad Najwyzszy); the Supreme Administrative Court (Naczelny Sad Administracyjny); the Constitutional Tribunal (Trybunal Konstytucyjny); and the State Tribunal (Trybunal Stanu). On the approval of the Senat, the Sejm also appoints the ombudsman or the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection (Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich) for a five-year term. The ombudsman has the duty of guarding the observance and implementation of the rights and liberties of Polish citizens and residents, of the law and of principles of community life and social justice.[257]

Law
Main article: Law of Poland

The Constitution of 3 May adopted in 1791 was the first modern constitution in Europe.[258]
The Constitution of Poland is the enacted supreme law, and the Polish legal system is based on the principle of civil rights, governed by the code of civil law. The current democratic constitution was adopted by the National Assembly of Poland on 2 April 1997; it guarantees a multi-party state with freedoms of religion, speech and assembly, prohibits the practices of forced medical experimentation, torture or corporal punishment, and acknowledges the inviolability of the home, the right to form trade unions, and the right to strike.[259]

The judiciary incorporates a four-tier court system composed of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, Common Courts (District, Regional, Appellate) and the Military Court.[260] Judges are nominated by the National Council of the Judiciary and are appointed for life by the president.[261] The Constitutional and State Tribunals are separate judicial bodies, which rule the constitutional liability of people holding the highest offices of state and supervise the compliance of statutory law, thus protecting the Constitution.[262]

The Polish Constitutional Tribunal

The Supreme Court of Poland
Historically, the most significant Polish legal act is the Constitution of 3 May 1791, the first modern constitution in Europe.[258] Instituted as a Government Act, it was designed to redress long-standing political defects of the federative Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and its Golden Liberty. Previously, only the Henrician Articles (1573) signed by each of Poland's elected monarchs could perform the function of a set of basic laws. The new Constitution introduced political equality between townspeople and the nobility (szlachta), and placed the peasants under the protection of the government. It abolished pernicious parliamentary policies such as the liberum veto, which permitted any deputy to rescind all the legislation passed in the interest of a foreign power. The 3 May Constitution sought to supplant the existing anarchy fostered by some of the country's reactionary magnates, with a more egalitarian and democratic constitutional monarchy. The Constitution influenced many later democratic movements across the globe.[263][264] Tax-paying women were allowed to take part in Polish political life until the third partition in 1795. In 1918 the Second Polish Republic became one of the first countries to introduce universal women's suffrage.[265]

Poland has a low homicide rate at 0.7 murders per 100,000 people, as of 2018.[266] Rape, assault and violent crime remain at a very low level, although not all cases are recorded by the authorities.[267][268][269]

Abortion is permitted only in cases of rape, incest or when the woman's life is in danger.[270] Congenital disorder and stillbirth are not covered by the law, forcing some women to seek abortion abroad, and others to seek the assistance of psychiatrists willing to testify on the negative psychological impact of stillbirth.[271] Poland does not criminalize homosexuality, and its legality was confirmed in 1932.[272][273] The Polish Constitution defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.[274]

Foreign relations
Main articles: Foreign relations of Poland and List of diplomatic missions of Poland

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, located in Warsaw
Poland is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union and has a grand total of 52 representatives in the European Parliament as of 2020.[275] Since joining the union in 2004, successive Polish governments have pursued policies to extend the country's role in European and international affairs. Poland is an emerging regional power in Central Europe.[276] The capital of Warsaw serves as the headquarters for Frontex,[277] the European Union's agency for external border security as well as ODIHR, one of the principal institutions of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.[278]

Apart from the European Union, Poland has been a member of NATO since 1999, the UN, the World Trade Organization, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) since 1996, European Economic Area, International Energy Agency, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, International Atomic Energy Agency, European Space Agency, G6, Council of the Baltic Sea States, Visegrád Group, Weimar Triangle, Schengen Agreement, Lublin Triangle and Bucharest Nine.

Over the past two decades, Poland significantly strengthened its ties with the United States, thus becoming one of its closest allies in Europe.[279][280] Poland was part of the US-led coalition force during the Iraq War in 2003, and sent its troops in the first phase of the conflict, jointly with the United Kingdom and Australia. Along with NATO, Poland maintains military presence in the Middle East, the Baltic states and in the Balkans.[281][282]

Military
Main articles: Polish Armed Forces and Territorial Defence Force (Poland)

Polish Air Force F-16s, a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft
The Polish Armed Forces are composed of five branches – Land Forces (Wojska Ladowe), Navy (Marynarka Wojenna), Air Force (Sily Powietrzne), Special Forces (Wojska Specjalne) and the Territorial Defence Force (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej). The military is subordinate to the Ministry of National Defence of the Republic of Poland. However, its commander-in-chief in peacetime is the President of the Republic, who nominates officers, the Minister for National Defence and the chief of staff.[283][284]

As of 2018, the Polish Armed Forces have a combined strength of 144,142 soldiers.[285] The Polish Navy primarily operates on the Baltic Sea and conducts operations such as maritime patrol, search and rescue for the section of the Baltic under Polish sovereignty, as well as hydrographic measurements and research. The Polish Air Force routinely takes part in Baltic Air Policing assignments. In 2003, the F-16C Block 52 was selected as the new general multi-role fighter for the air force. In January 2020, Poland has approved the delivery for F-35 Lightning II combat aircraft.[286][287] Poland is currently spending 2% of its GDP on defence (approximately US$13.5 billion in 2020), which is expected to grow to 2.5% by 2030.[288] According to SIPRI, the country exported EUR€487 million worth of arms and armaments to other countries, primarily to the United States, Chile, France and South Africa.[289]

Soldier from the Naval Special Forces Unit, JW GROM
The mission of the armed forces is the defence of Poland's territorial integrity and Polish interests abroad.[290] The country's national security goal is to further integrate with NATO and European defence, economic, and political institutions.[290] Compulsory military service for men was discontinued in 2008. From 2007, until conscription ended in 2008, the mandatory service was nine months.[291] Polish military doctrine reflects the same defensive nature as that of its NATO partners and the country actively hosts NATO's military exercises.[292] From 1953 to 2009 Poland was a large contributor to various United Nations peacekeeping missions.[290][293] The Polish Armed Forces took part in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, deploying 2,500 soldiers in the south of that country and commanding the 17-nation multinational force in Iraq. Poland also maintains troops in the Middle East, the Baltic states and in the Balkans; 1,650 soldiers were deployed in 2019.[294]

Law enforcement and emergency services
Main articles: Law enforcement in Poland, Emergency medical services in Poland, and State Fire Service

A Mercedes-Benz Sprinter patrol van belonging to the Polish State Police Service (Policja)
Law enforcement in Poland is performed by several agencies which are subordinate to the Ministry of Interior and Administration – the State Police (Policja), assigned to investigate crimes or transgression; the Municipal City Guard, which maintains public order; and several specialized agencies, such as the Polish Border Guard.[295] Private security firms are also common, although they possess no legal authority to arrest or detain a suspect.[295][296] Municipal guards are primarily headed by provincial, regional or city councils; individual guards are not permitted to carry firearms unless instructed by their superior commanding officer or commandant.[297]

The Internal Security Agency (ABW, or ISA in English) is the chief counter-intelligence instrument safeguarding Poland's internal security, along with Agencja Wywiadu (AW) which identifies threats and collects secret information abroad.[298] The Central Investigation Bureau of Police (CBSP) and the Central Anticorruption Bureau (CBA) are responsible for countering organized crime and corruption in state and private institutions.[299][300]

Emergency services in Poland consist of the emergency medical services, search and rescue units of the Polish Armed Forces and State Fire Service. Emergency medical services in Poland are operated by local and regional governments,[301] but are a part of the centralized national agency - the National Medical Emergency Service (Panstwowe Ratownictwo Medyczne).[302]

All emergency services personnel are uniformed and security services can be easily recognized during regular patrols in both large urban areas or smaller suburban localities.[303]

Administrative divisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of Poland
Poland's current voivodeships (provinces) are largely based on the country's historic regions, whereas those of the past two decades (to 1998) had been centred on and named for individual cities. The new units range in area from less than 10,000 square kilometres (3,900 sq mi) for Opole Voivodeship to more than 35,000 square kilometres (14,000 sq mi) for Masovian Voivodeship. Administrative authority at the voivodeship level is shared between a government-appointed voivode (governor), an elected regional assembly (sejmik) and a voivodeship marshal, an executive elected by that assembly.

The voivodeships are subdivided into powiats (often referred to in English as counties), and these are further divided into gminas (also known as communes or municipalities). Major cities normally have the status of both gmina and powiat. Poland has 16 voivodeships, 380 powiats (including 66 cities with powiat status), and 2,478 gminas.

Pomeranian Voivodeship
PomeranianWest Pomeranian Voivodeship
West
PomeranianWarmian-Masurian Voivodeship
Warmian-MasurianPodlaskie Voivodeship
PodlaskieMasovian Voivodeship
MasovianKuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship
Kuyavian-
PomeranianGreater Poland Voivodeship
Greater PolandLubusz Voivodeship
LubuszLower Silesian Voivodeship
Lower SilesianLódz Voivodeship
LódzOpolskie Voivodeship
OpoleLublin Voivodeship
LublinLesser Poland Voivodeship
Lesser
PolandPodkarpackie Voivodeship
SubcarpathianSwietokrzyskie Voivodeship
Holy CrossSilesian Voivodeship
SilesianKaliningrad
(Russia)LithuaniaBelarusUkraineSlovakiaCzech RepublicGermanyBaltic Sea
Voivodeship Capital city or cities
in English in Polish
Greater Poland Wielkopolskie Poznan
Kuyavian-Pomeranian Kujawsko-Pomorskie Bydgoszcz / Torun
Lesser Poland Malopolskie Kraków
Lódz Lódzkie Lódz
Lower Silesian Dolnoslaskie Wroclaw
Lublin Lubelskie Lublin
Lubusz Lubuskie Gorzów Wielkopolski / Zielona Góra
Masovian Mazowieckie Warsaw
Opole Opolskie Opole
Podlaskie Podlaskie Bialystok
Pomeranian Pomorskie Gdansk
Silesian Slaskie Katowice
Subcarpathian Podkarpackie Rzeszów
Swietokrzyskie
(Holy Cross) Swietokrzyskie Kielce
Warmian-Masurian Warminsko-Mazurskie Olsztyn
West Pomeranian Zachodniopomorskie Szczecin
Economy
Main article: Economy of Poland
Panorama siekierkowski.jpg
Economic indicators
GDP (PPP) $1.363 trillion (2021) [11]
Nominal GDP $642 billion (2021) [11]
Real GDP growth 4.5% (2019) [304]
CPI inflation 2.2% (2019) [305]
Employment-to-population ratio 55% (2019) [306]
Unemployment 3.5% (2020) [307]
Total public debt $274 billion (2019) [308]

A proportional representation of Poland exports, 2019
Poland's economy and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is currently the sixth largest in the European Union by nominal standards, and the fifth largest by purchasing power parity. It is also one of the fastest growing within the Union.[309] Around 60% of the employed population belongs to the tertiary service sector, 30% to industry and manufacturing, and the remaining 10% to the agricultural sector.[310] Although Poland is a member of EU's single market, the country has not adopted the Euro as legal tender and maintains its own currency – the Polish zloty (zl, PLN).

Poland is the regional economic leader in Central Europe, with nearly 40 per cent of the 500 biggest companies in the region (by revenues) as well as a high globalisation rate.[311] The country's largest firms compose the WIG20 and WIG30 indexes, which is traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange. According to reports made by the National Bank of Poland, the value of Polish foreign direct investments reached almost 300 billion PLN at the end of 2014. The Central Statistical Office estimated that in 2014 there were 1,437 Polish corporations with interests in 3,194 foreign entities.[312]

Having a strong domestic market, low private debt, low unemployment rate, flexible currency, and not being dependent on a single export sector, Poland is the only European economy to have avoided the recession of 2008.[313] The country is the 20th largest exporter of goods and services in the world and its most successful exports include machinery, furniture, food products, clothing, shoes, cosmetics and videogames.[314][315][316] These account to approximately 56% of the total GDP, as of 2018.[314] Poland's largest trading partners include Germany, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, France and Italy.[317][318] In September 2018, the unemployment rate was estimated at 5.7%, one of the lowest in the European Union.[319] In 2019, Poland passed a law that would exempt workers under the age of 26 from income tax.[320]

The Warsaw Stock Exchange is the largest exchange by market capitalization in East-Central Europe.
The Polish banking sector is the largest in the region,[321] with 32.3 branches per 100,000 adults.[322][323] The banks are the largest and most developed sector of the country's financial markets. They are regulated by the Polish Financial Supervision Authority. Poland's banking sector has approximately 5 national banks, a network of nearly 600 cooperative banks and 18 branches of foreign-owned banks. In addition, foreign investors have controlling stakes in nearly 40 commercial banks, which make up 68% of the banking capital.[321]

Products and goods manufactured in Poland include: electronics, buses and trams (Solaris, Solbus), helicopters and planes (PZL Swidnik, PZL Mielec), trains (Pesa, Newag), ships (Gdansk Shipyard, Szczecin Shipyard), military equipment (FB "Lucznik" Radom, Bumar-Labedy, Jelcz), medicines (Polpharma, Polfa), food (Tymbark, Hortex, E. Wedel), clothes (LLP), glass, pottery (Boleslawiec), chemical products and others. Well-known brands and companies include Alior Bank, Orlen&Lotos Group, Inglot Cosmetics, Plus, Play, Brainly, Netguru, GOG.com, CD Projekt, Trefl and Allegro. Poland is also one of the world's biggest producers of copper, silver, coal, furniture, automotive parts and soft drink.[324][325][326]

Tourism
Main articles: Tourism in Poland, List of World Heritage Sites of Poland, List of Historic Monuments (Poland), Seven Wonders of Poland, and Crown of Polish Mountains

The Old City of Zamosc is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Poland experienced a significant increase in the number of tourists after joining the European Union in 2004.[327][328] With nearly 21 million international arrivals in 2019, tourism contributes considerably to the overall economy and makes up a relatively large proportion of the country's service market.[329][330]

Tourist attractions in Poland vary, from the mountains in the south to the sandy beaches in the north, with a trail of nearly every architectural style. The most visited city is Kraków, which was the former capital of Poland and serves as a relic of the Polish Golden Age and the Renaissance. Kraków also held royal coronations of most Polish kings and monarchs at Wawel, the nation's chief historical landmark. Among other notable sites in the country is Wroclaw, one of the oldest cities in Poland which was a model for the founding of Kraków. Wroclaw is famous for its dwarfs, a large market square with two town halls, and the oldest Zoological Gardens with one of the world's largest number of animal species. The Polish capital Warsaw and its historical Old Town were entirely reconstructed after wartime destruction. Other cities attracting countless tourists include Gdansk, Poznan, Lublin, Torun as well as the site of the German Auschwitz concentration camp in Oswiecim. A notable highlight is the 13th-century Wieliczka Salt Mine with its labyrinthine tunnels, a subterranean lake and chapels carved by miners out of rock salt beneath the ground.

Aquarium in the Zoological Garden in Wroclaw
Poland's main tourist offerings include outdoor activities such as skiing, sailing, mountain hiking and climbing, as well as agritourism, sightseeing historical monuments. Tourist destinations include the Baltic Sea coast in the north; the Masurian Lake District and Bialowieza Forest in the east; on the south Karkonosze, the Table Mountains and the Tatra Mountains, where Rysy – the highest peak of Poland, and Eagle's Path mountain trail are located. The Pieniny and Bieszczady Mountains lie in the extreme south-east.[331] There are over 100 castles in the country, most in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (inter alia The Piast Castles Trail), and also on the Trail of the Eagles' Nests.[332] The largest castle in the world by land area is situated in Malbork, in north-central Poland.[333]

Energy
Main articles: Energy in Poland and Coal mining in Poland

Belchatów Power Station is a lignite-fired power station that produces 27–28 TWh of electricity per year or twenty per cent of the total power generation in Poland.
The electricity generation sector in Poland is largely fossil-fuel–based. Many power plants nationwide use Poland's position as a major European exporter of coal to their advantage by continuing to use coal as the primary raw material in the production of their energy. In 2013, Poland scored 48 out of 129 states in the Energy Sustainability Index.[334] The three largest Polish coal mining firms (Weglokoks, Kompania Weglowa and JSW) extract around 100 million tonnes of coal annually.

Renewable forms of energy account for a smaller proportion of Poland's full energy generation capacity.[335] However, the national government has set targets for the development of renewable energy sources in Poland (the share of energy from renewable sources in the gross final energy consumption in 2019 was – 12,18%). Increasing the share of energy from renewable sources and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions to be achieved with the help of biofuels, photovoltaics, construction of wind farms on the land and the Baltic Sea, hydroelectric stations and nuclear power plant.

Poland has around 164,800,000,000 m3 of proven natural gas reserves and around 96,380,000 barrels of proven oil reserves. These reserves are exploited by energy supply companies such as PKN Orlen ("the only Polish company listed in the Fortune Global 500"), PGNiG. However, the small amounts of fossil fuels naturally occurring in Poland are insufficient to satisfy the full energy consumption needs of the population and industry. Consequently, the country is a net importer of oil and natural gas. Therefore, since the second decade of the 21st century, Poland has been strongly developing the so-called North Gate in which the most important components are the Baltic Pipe, the Swinoujscie LNG terminal and Floating Storage and Regasification Unit in Port of Gdansk.

The 5 largest companies supplying Poland electricity are PGE, Tauron, Enea, Energa and Innogy Poland.

Transport
Main articles: Transport in Poland, List of airports in Poland, and Highways in Poland

PKP Intercity Pendolino at the Wroclaw railway station
Transport in Poland is provided by means of rail, road, marine shipping and air travel. The country is part of EU's Schengen Area and is an important transport hub along neighbouring Germany due to its strategic position in Central Europe.[336] Some of the longest European routes, including the E40, run through Poland.

The country has a good network of highways, composed of express roads and motorways. At the start of 2020, Poland had 4,146.5 km (2,576.5 mi) of highways in use.[337] In addition, all local and regional roads are monitored by the National Road Rebuilding Programme, which aims to improve the quality of travel in the countryside and suburban localities.[338]

In 2017, the nation had 18,513 kilometres (11,503 mi) of railway track, the third longest in Europe after Germany and France.[339] The Polish State Railways (PKP) is the dominant railway operator in the country. In December 2014, Poland began to implement high–speed rail routes connecting major Polish cities,[340] and started passenger service using the New Pendolino train, operating at 200 km/h on the Central Rail Line (CMK). Polish regulations allow trains without ETCS to travel at speeds up to 160 km/h, trains with ETCS1 up to 200 km/h, and trains with ETCS2 at over 200 km/h. Most inter-regional connections rail routes in Poland are operated by PKP Intercity, whilst regional trains are run by a number of private operators, the largest of which is Polregio. The largest passenger train station in terms of the number of travelers is Wroclaw Glówny.

LOT Polish Airlines is Poland's flag carrier, originally established in 1928.
The air and maritime transport markets in Poland are largely well developed. Poland has a number of international airports, the largest of which is Warsaw Chopin Airport, the primary global hub for LOT Polish Airlines. It was established in 1928 from a merger of Aerolloyd (1922) and Aero (1925). Other major airports with international connections include John Paul II International Airport Kraków–Balice, Copernicus Airport Wroclaw, Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport. Poland has begun preparations for a construction that can handle 100 million passengers of the Central Communication Port.

Seaports exist all along Poland's Baltic coast, with most freight operations using Swinoujscie, Police, Szczecin, Kolobrzeg, Gdynia, Gdansk and Elblag as their base. Passenger ferries link Poland with Scandinavia all year round; these services are provided from Gdansk and Swinoujscie by Polferries, Stena Line from Gdynia and Unity Line from the Swinoujscie. The Port of Gdansk is the only port in the Baltic Sea adapted to receive oceanic vessels.

Science and technology
Main articles: Polish science and technology and Poles § Science and technology

Physicist and chemist Maria Sklodowska-Curie was the first person to win two Nobel Prizes. She also established Poland's Radium Institute in 1925.[341]
Over the course of history, the Polish people have made considerable contributions in the fields of science, technology and mathematics.[342] Perhaps the most renowned Pole to support this theory was Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikolaj Kopernik), who triggered the Copernican Revolution by placing the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe.[343] He also derived a quantity theory of money, which made him a pioneer of economics. Copernicus' achievements and discoveries are considered the basis of Polish culture and cultural identity.[344]

Poland's tertiary education institutions; traditional universities, as well as technical, medical, and economic institutions, employ around tens of thousands of researchers and staff members. There are hundreds of research and development institutes.[345] However, in the 19th and 20th centuries many Polish scientists worked abroad; one of the most important of these exiles was Maria Sklodowska-Curie, a physicist and chemist who lived much of her life in France. In 1925 she established Poland's Radium Institute.[341]

Nicolaus Copernicus, the 16th century Polish astronomer who formulated the heliocentric model of the solar system that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at its center.
In the first half of the 20th century, Poland was a flourishing centre of mathematics. Outstanding Polish mathematicians formed the Lwów School of Mathematics (with Stefan Banach, Stanislaw Mazur, Hugo Steinhaus, Stanislaw Ulam) and Warsaw School of Mathematics (with Alfred Tarski, Kazimierz Kuratowski, Waclaw Sierpinski and Antoni Zygmund). Numerous mathematicians, scientists, chemists or economists emigrated due to historic vicissitudes, among them Benoit Mandelbrot, Leonid Hurwicz, Alfred Tarski, Joseph Rotblat and Nobel Prize laureates Roald Hoffmann, Georges Charpak and Tadeusz Reichstein. In the 1930s, mathematician and cryptologist Marian Rejewski invented the Cryptographic Bomb which formed the basis of the effort that allowed the Allies to crack the Enigma code.

Over 40 research and development centers and 4,500 researchers make Poland the biggest research and development hub in Central and Eastern Europe.[346][347] Multinational companies such as: ABB, Delphi, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Hewlett–Packard, IBM, Intel, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Motorola, Siemens and Samsung all have set up research and development centres in Poland.[348] Companies chose Poland because of the availability of highly qualified labour force, presence of universities, support of authorities, and the largest market in East-Central Europe.[346] According to a KPMG report from 2011, 80% of Poland's current investors are content with their choice and willing to reinvest.[349] Poland was ranked 38th in the Global Innovation Index in 2020, up from 39th in 2019.[350][351][352][353]

Poland has a very well-developed e-administration, thanks to which many official matters can be easily and quickly settled via the Internet. In the UN ranking, Poland is in the top twenty countries with the best-rated e-administration in the world.

Demographics
Main articles: Demographics of Poland, List of cities and towns in Poland, Metropolitan areas in Poland, and Polish diaspora
vte
Largest cities or towns in Poland
Central Statistical Office population report for 30.06.2020
Rank Name Voivodeship Pop. Rank Name Voivodeship Pop.
Warsaw
Warsaw
Kraków
Kraków 1 Warsaw Masovian 1,793,579 11 Katowice Silesian 291,774 Lódz
Lódz
Wroclaw
Wroclaw
2 Kraków Lesser Poland 780,981 12 Gdynia Pomeranian 245,867
3 Lódz Lódz 677,286 13 Czestochowa Silesian 219,278
4 Wroclaw Lower Silesian 643,782 14 Radom Masovian 210,532
5 Poznan Greater Poland 533,830 15 Torun Kuyavian-Pomeranian 201,106
6 Gdansk Pomeranian 471,525 16 Sosnowiec Silesian 198,996
7 Szczecin West Pomeranian 400,990 17 Rzeszów Podkarpackie 196,821
8 Bydgoszcz Kuyavian-Pomeranian 346,739 18 Kielce Swietokrzyskie 194,218
9 Lublin Lublin 339,547 19 Gliwice Silesian 178,186
10 Bialystok Podlaskie 297,585 20 Olsztyn Warmian-Masurian 171,853
Poland, with approximately 38.5 million inhabitants, has the ninth-largest population in Europe and the fifth-largest in the European Union. It has a population density of 122 inhabitants per square kilometre (328 per square mile). The total fertility rate in 2020 was estimated at 1.44 children born to a woman, a considerable rise from previous years.[354] In contrast, the total fertility rate in 1925 was 4.68.[355] Furthermore, Poland's population is aging significantly and the median age in 2018 was 41.1 years.[356] The crude death rate in 2020 stood at 10.3 per 1,000 people.[357]

Population of Poland from 1900 to 2010 in millions of inhabitants
Around 60% of Poles and Polish citizens reside in urban areas or major cities and 40% in more rural zones.[356] The most populous administrative province or state is the Masovian Voivodeship and the most populous city is the capital, Warsaw, at 1.8 million inhabitants with a further 2-3 million people living in its metropolitan area.[358][359][360] The metropolitan area of Katowice is the largest urban conurbation in Poland with a population between 2.7 million[361] and 5.3 million residents.[362] The least populous and the smallest province in size is the Opole Voivodeship, with just under 1 million people living within its borders. Hence, a substantial portion of the total population is concentrated in the south of Poland, roughly between the cities of Wroclaw and Kraków.

In the 2011 Polish census, 37,310,341 people reported Polish identity, 846,719 Silesian, 232,547 Kashubian and 147,814 German. Other identities were reported by 163,363 people (0.41%) and 521,470 people (1.35%) did not specify any nationality.[2][3] Once prominent but now statistically insignificant minority groups include Polish Jews, Lipka Tatars, Armenians, Greeks, Lemkos, the Romani people and the Vietnamese. Ethnic Poles themselves can be divided into many diverse regional ethnographic sub-groups, most notable being the Kashubians, Silesians and Gorals (Highlanders). The statistics do not include recently arrived migrant workers.[363][364] More than 1.7 million Ukrainian citizens worked legally in Poland in 2017.[365]

There is a very strong Polish diaspora around the world, notably in the United States, Germany, United Kingdom and Canada.[366] A strong Polish minority is still present in the territories of contemporary western Ukraine and Belarus, eastern Lithuania, eastern and central Latvia, and northeastern Czech Republic, which were part of Poland in the past. Altogether, the number of ethnic Poles living abroad is estimated to be around 20 million.[367]

Languages
Main articles: Polish language, Languages of Poland, and Bilingual communes in Poland

Dolina Jadwigi — a bilingual Polish-Kashubian road sign with the village name
Polish is the only official and predominant spoken language in Poland, but it is also used throughout the world by Polish minorities in other countries as well as being one of the official languages of the European Union. The deaf communities use Polish Sign Language belonging to the German family of Sign Languages. Polish is also a second language in Lithuania, where it is taught in schools and universities.[368][369] Contemporary Poland is a linguistically homogeneous nation, with nearly 97% of respondents declaring Polish as their mother tongue.[370][371]

Poland's once multi-ethnic population communicated in numerous languages and lects which faded or disappeared along the course of history. There are currently 15[372] minority languages in Poland, including one recognized regional language, Kashubian, which is spoken by around 366,000 people in the northern regions of Kashubia and Pomerania.[373][374][375]

Languages having the status of national minority's language are Armenian, Belarusian, Czech, German, Yiddish, Hebrew, Lithuanian, Russian, Slovak and Ukrainian. Languages having the status of ethnic minority's language are Karaim, Lemko-Rusyn, Tatar and two Romani languages; Polska Roma and Bergitka Roma.[376] Official recognition of a language provides certain rights under conditions prescribed by Polish law, including education and state financial support for promoting that language. Poland recognized secondary administrative languages or auxiliary languages in bilingual municipalities.[377] Currently, German and Kashubian hold such status in 19 municipalities (gminas), Belarusian in 9 and Lithuanian in 1. Bilingual signs, names and advertisements are commonplace in those localities. Silesian and Wymysorys (Vilamovian) are not legally recognized or acknowledged as separate languages with a minority status.

More than 50% of Polish citizens declare at least basic knowledge of the English language, followed by German (38%).[378][379]

Religion
Religions in Poland (2015)
Roman Catholic
?
92.9%
Irreligion
?
3.1%
No answer
?
2.7%
Other faiths
?
1.3%
Numbers from the Central Statistical Office:[380]
Main article: Religion in Poland
According to the 2015 census, 92.9% of all Polish citizens adhere to the Roman Catholic Church. An estimated 94.2% of the population are believers and 3.1% are irreligious, making Poland one of the more devout countries in Europe.[381] Around 61.6% of all respondents outlined that religion is of high or very high importance.[381] However, church attendance has decreased in recent years; only 38% of worshippers attended mass regularly on Sunday in 2018.[382] Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Polish Constitution,[383][384] and the concordat guarantees the teaching of religion in state schools.[385]

Jasna Góra Monastery in Czestochowa is a shrine to the Black Madonna, and a major pilgrimage site for Poland's many Catholics.
For centuries the tribes inhabiting the lands of modern-day Poland have practised various forms of paganism known as Rodzimowierstwo, or "native faith".[386][387][388] In the year 966, Duke Mieszko I converted to Christianity, and submitted to the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.[389][390] This event came to be known as the Baptism of Poland.[391][392][393] However, this did not put an end to pagan beliefs in the country. The persistence was demonstrated by a series of rebellions in the 1030s known as the pagan reaction, which also showed elements of a peasant uprising against medieval feudalism.[394][395]

Karol Wojtyla was the first Pole to become a Roman Catholic Pope (John Paul II). He held the papacy between 1978 and 2005.
Religious tolerance was an important part of Polish political culture, though it varied at times. In 1264, the Statute of Kalisz granted Jews unprecedented legal rights not found anywhere in Europe. In 1573, the Warsaw Confederation marked the formal beginning of extensive religious freedoms in Poland. It was partially influenced by the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in France, which prompted the nobility to prevent the monarch from carrying out reprehensible atrocities in Poland based on religious affiliation.[396] The religious tolerance also spurred many theological movements such as the Calvinist Polish Brethren, a number of Protestant groups and atheists like Casimir Liszinski, one of the first atheist thinkers in Europe.[397] Anabaptists fleeing 16th-century persecution in the Netherlands and Germany settled in Poland and became known as the Vistula delta Mennonites. From 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyla was head of the Roman Catholic Church as Pope John Paul II.[398][399][400]

Contemporary religious minorities include Christian Orthodox (506,800),[8] various Protestants (150,000) — including 77,500 Lutherans of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church,[8] 23,000 Pentecostals in the Pentecostal Church in Poland, 10,000 Adventists in the Seventh-day Adventist Church and other smaller Evangelical denominations[8] — Jehovah's Witnesses (126,827),[8] Eastern Catholics, Mariavites, Jews, Muslims (Tatars) and neopagans, some of whom are members of the Native Polish Church.

The Old Synagogue of Kraków is the oldest standing synagogue in Poland. Hasidic Judaism originated in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the 18th century.
Famous sites of Roman Catholic pilgrimage in Poland include the Monastery of Jasna Góra in the city of Czestochowa, Basilica of Our Lady of Lichen, Kraków's Sanctuary of Divine Mercy and Swieta Lipka (Holy Linden) in Masuria. Tourists also visit the family home of John Paul II in Wadowice outside Kraków. Christ the King in Swiebodzin is the tallest statue of Jesus in the world.[401] Christian Orthodox pilgrims visit Mount Grabarka near Grabarka-Klasztor and the Hasidic Jews travel annually to the grave of a great rabbi in Lezajsk.[402]

Health
Main article: Health in Poland
Medical service providers and hospitals (szpitale) in Poland are subordinate to the Ministry of Health; it provides administrative oversight and scrutiny of general medical practice, and is obliged to maintain a high standard of hygiene and patient care. Poland has a universal healthcare system based on an all-inclusive insurance system; state subsidised healthcare is available to all citizens covered by the general health insurance program of the National Health Fund (NFZ). Private medical complexes exist nationwide; over 50% of the population uses both public and private sectors.[403][404][405]

Hospitals are organised according to the regional administrative structure, resultantly most towns, counties or municipalities possess their own provincial hospital or medical clinics.[406] There are six types of hospital facilities, each with a particular area of medical expertise – I Grade Hospitals for general surgery, internal illnesses and obstetrics; II Grade Hospitals for child surgery, neurology, cardiology and ophthalmology; III Grade Hospitals including teaching hospitals for infectious diseases, nephrology, orthopedics, toxicology and transplantology; Oncology Hospitals for cancer treatment and brachytherapy; Pediatric Hospitals for child care; and Nationwide Hospitals for general and acute care.[407]

According to the Human Development Report from 2020, the average life expectancy at birth is 79 years (around 75 years for an infant male and 83 years for an infant female);[408] the country has a low infant mortality rate (4 per 1,000 births).[409] In 2019, the principal cause of death was ischemic heart disease; diseases of the circulatory system accounted for 45% of all deaths.[410][411] In the same year, Poland was also the 15th-largest importer of medications and pharmaceutical products.[412]

Education
Main articles: Education in Poland and Universities in Poland

Jagiellonian University in Kraków
The Jagiellonian University founded in 1364 by Casimir III in Kraków was the first institution of higher learning established in Poland, and is one of the oldest universities still in continuous operation.[413] Poland's Commission of National Education (Komisja Edukacji Narodowej), established in 1773, was the world's first state ministry of education.[414][415]

The framework for primary and secondary schooling in contemporary Poland is established by the Ministry of National Education. Kindergarten attendance is optional for children aged between three and five, with one year being compulsory for six-year-olds.[416][417] Primary education traditionally begins at the age of seven, although children aged six can attend at the request of their parents or guardians.[417] Elementary school spans eight grades, at the end of which an obligatory three-part exam on Polish, mathematics and a foreign language is to be undertaken.[418] Secondary schooling is dependent on student preference – either a four-year high school (liceum), a five-year technical school (technikum) or various vocational studies (szkola branzowa) can be pursued by each individual pupil.[417] A liceum or technikum is concluded with a maturity exit exam (matura), which must be passed in order to apply for a university or other institutions of higher learning.[419]

The standards of higher tertiary education are imposed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. In Poland, there are over 500 university-level institutions,[420] with technical, medical, economic, agricultural, pedagogical, theological, musical, maritime and military faculties.[421] The University of Warsaw and Warsaw Polytechnic, the University of Wroclaw, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and the University of Technology in Gdansk are among the most prominent.[422] There are three conventional academic degrees in Poland – licencjat or inzynier (first cycle qualification), magister (second cycle qualification) and doktor (third cycle qualification).[423]

In 2018, the Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, ranked Poland's educational system higher than the OECD average; the study showed that students in Poland perform better academically than in most OECD countries.[424]

Culture
Main article: Culture of Poland

The Polish White Eagle is Poland's enduring national and cultural symbol
The culture of Poland is closely connected with its intricate 1,000-year history and forms an important constituent in western civilization.[425] The Poles take great pride in their national identity which is often associated with the colours white and red, and exuded by the expression bialo-czerwoni ("whitereds").[426] National symbols, chiefly the crowned white-tailed eagle, are often visible on clothing, insignia and emblems. The appreciation of Poland's traditions and cultural heritage is commonly known as Polonophilia.[427]

With origins in the customs of the tribal Lechites, over time the culture of Poland has been influenced by its connection to Western culture and trends, as well as developing its own unique traditions such as Sarmatism.[428] The people of Poland have traditionally been seen as hospitable to artists from abroad and eager to follow cultural and artistic trends popular in foreign countries, for instance, the 16th- and 17th-century tradition of coffin portraits (portret trumienny) was only observed in Poland and Roman Egypt.[429] In the 19th and 20th centuries the Polish focus on cultural advancement often took precedence over political and economic activity. These factors have contributed to the versatile nature of Polish art.[428]

The architectural monuments of great importance are protected by the National Heritage Board of Poland.[430] Over 100 of the country's most significant tangible wonders were enlisted onto the Historic Monuments Register,[431] with further 17 being recognized by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. Poland is renowned for its brick Gothic castles, granaries and churches as well as diversely-styled tenements, market squares and town halls. The majority of Polish cities founded on Magdeburg Law in the Middle Ages evolved around central marketplaces, a distinguishable urban characteristic which can be observed to this day.[432] Medieval and Renaissance cloth halls were once an abundant feature of many towns.[433]

Holidays and traditions
See also: Christmas in Poland

All Saints' Day on 1 November is one of the most important public holidays in Poland.
There are 13 government-approved annual public holidays – New Year on 1 January, Three Kings' Day on 6 January, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, Labour Day on 1 May, Constitution Day on 3 May, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, Armed Forces Day on 15 August, All Saints' Day on 1 November, Independence Day on 11 November and Christmastide on 25 and 26 December.[434]

Particular traditions and superstitious customs observed in Poland are not found elsewhere in Europe. Though Christmas Eve (Wigilia) is not a public holiday, it remains the most memorable day of the entire year. Trees are decorated on 24 December, hay is placed under the tablecloth to resemble Jesus' manger, Christmas wafers (oplatek) are shared between gathered guests and a twelve-dish meatless supper is served that same evening when the first star appears.[435] An empty plate and seat are symbolically left at the table for an unexpected guest.[436] On occasion, carolers journey around smaller towns with a folk Turon creature until the Lent period.[437]

A widely-popular doughnut and sweet pastry feast occurs on Fat Thursday, usually 52 days prior to Easter.[438] Eggs for Holy Sunday are painted and placed in decorated baskets that are previously blessed by clergymen in churches on Easter Saturday. Easter Monday is celebrated with pagan dyngus festivities, where the youth is engaged in water fights.[439][438]

Cemeteries and graves of the deceased are annually visited by family members on All Saints' Day; tombstones are cleaned as a sign of respect and candles are lit to honour the dead on an unprecedented scale.[440]

Music
Main article: Music of Poland
Fryderyk Chopin
Fryderyk Chopin was a renowned classical composer and virtuoso pianist.
Artur Rubinstein
Artur Rubinstein was one of the greatest concert pianists of the 20th century.
Artists from Poland, including famous musicians such as Chopin, Rubinstein, Paderewski, Penderecki and Wieniawski, and traditional, regionalized folk composers create a lively and diverse music scene, which even recognizes its own music genres, such as sung poetry and disco polo.[441]

The origins of Polish music can be traced to the 13th century; manuscripts have been found in Stary Sacz containing polyphonic compositions related to the Parisian Notre Dame School. Other early compositions, such as the melody of Bogurodzica and God Is Born (a coronation polonaise tune for Polish kings by an unknown composer), may also date back to this period, however, the first known notable composer, Nicholas of Radom, lived in the 15th century. Diomedes Cato, a native-born Italian who lived in Kraków, became a renowned lutenist at the court of Sigismund III; he not only imported some of the musical styles from southern Europe but blended them with native folk music.[442]

Fryderyk Chopin
Mazurka no. 4 in a minor, op. 17
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Mazurka (Polish: mazurek), stylized folk dance in triple meter (1832), commemorating the November Uprising
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Polish baroque composers wrote liturgical music and secular compositions such as concertos and sonatas for voices or instruments. At the end of the 18th century, Polish classical music evolved into national forms like the polonaise. Wojciech Boguslawski is accredited with composing the first Polish national opera, titled Krakowiacy i Górale, which premiered in 1794.[443]

Traditional Polish folk music has had a major effect on the works of many Polish composers, and no more so than on Fryderyk Chopin, a widely recognised national hero of the arts. All of Chopin's works involve the piano and are technically demanding, emphasising nuance and expressive depth. As a great composer, Chopin invented the musical form known as the instrumental ballade and made major innovations to the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, nocturne, polonaise, étude, impromptu and prélude, he was also the composer of a number of polonaises which borrowed heavily from traditional Polish folk music. It is largely thanks to him that such pieces gained great popularity throughout Europe during the 19th century. Several Polish composers such as Szymanowski drew inspiration from Chopin's folk-influenced style. Nowadays the most distinctive folk music can be heard in the towns and villages of the mountainous south, particularly in the region surrounding the winter resort town of Zakopane.[444]

Ballade form invented by Chopin.[445]
Ballade no. 3 in a-flat major, op. 47
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Inspired by poems of Adam Mickiewicz
Poland today has an active music scene, with the jazz and metal genres being particularly popular among the contemporary populace. Polish jazz musicians such as Krzysztof Komeda created a unique style, which was most famous in the 1960s and 1970s and continues to be popular to this day. Poland has also become a major venue for large-scale music festivals, chief among which are the Open'er Festival, Opole Festival and Sopot Festival.[446]

Art
Main articles: Art in Poland, Young Poland, and List of Polish artists

Lady with an Ermine (1490) by Leonardo da Vinci. Though not Polish in its origin, the painting symbolizes Poland's cultural heritage and is among the country's most precious treasures.
Art in Poland has always reflected European trends while maintaining its unique character. The Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, later developed by Jan Matejko, produced monumental portrayals of customs and significant events in Polish history.[447] Other institutions such as the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw were more innovative and focused on both historical and contemporary styles.[448] Notable art academies include the Kraków School of Art and Fashion Design, Art Academy of Szczecin, University of Fine Arts in Poznan and the Geppert Academy of Fine Arts in Wroclaw.

Perhaps the most prominent and internationally admired Polish artist was Tamara de Lempicka, who specialized in the style of Art Deco.[449] Lempicka was described as "the first woman artist to become a glamour star."[450] Another notable was Caziel, born Zielenkiewicz, who represented Cubism and Abstraction in France and England.[451]

Prior to the 19th century only Daniel Schultz and Italian-born Marcello Bacciarelli had the privilege of being recognized abroad. The Young Poland movement witnessed the birth of modern Polish art, and engaged in a great deal of formal experimentation led by Jacek Malczewski, Stanislaw Wyspianski, Józef Mehoffer, and a group of Polish Impressionists.[452] Stanislaw Witkiewicz was an ardent supporter of Realism, its main representative being Józef Chelmonski, while Artur Grottger specialized in Romanticism. Within historically-orientated circles, Henryk Siemiradzki dominated with his monumental Academic Art and ancient Roman theme.[453]

Interior of the National Museum in Wroclaw, which holds one of the largest collections of contemporary art in the country
Since the inter-war years, Polish art and documentary photography has enjoyed worldwide fame and in the 1960s the Polish School of Posters was formed.[428] Throughout the entire country, many national museum and art institutions hold valuable works by famous masters. Major museums in Poland include the National Museum in Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw, Kraków, and Gdansk, as well as the Museum of John Paul II Collection, and the Wilanów Museum. Important collections are also held at the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Wawel Castle and in the Palace on the Isle. Contemporary art galleries include Zacheta, Ujazdów, and MOCAK.[454] The most distinguished painting of Poland is Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, held at the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków. Although not Polish, the work had a strong influence on Polish culture and has been often associated with Polish identity.[455]

Architecture
Main article: Architecture of Poland
Polish cities and towns reflect a whole spectrum of European architectural styles. Romanesque architecture is represented by St. Andrew's Church, Kraków, and St. Mary's Church, Gdansk, is characteristic for the Brick Gothic style found in Poland. Richly decorated attics and arcade loggias are the common elements of the Polish Renaissance architecture,[456][457] as evident in the City Hall in Poznan. For some time the late renaissance style known as mannerism, most notably in the Bishop's Palace in Kielce, coexisted with the early baroque style, typified in the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Kraków.[458]

Saint Mary's Church in Kraków
St. Mary's Basilica on the Main Market Square in Kraków is an example of Brick Gothic architecture
Poznan City Hall
Ratusz, the 16th-century Renaissance City Hall in Poznan designed by Italian architects
History has not been kind to Poland's architectural monuments. Nonetheless, a number of ancient structures have survived: castles, churches, and stately homes, often unique in the regional or European context. Some of them have been painstakingly restored, like Wawel Castle, or completely reconstructed, including the Old Town and Royal Castle of Warsaw and the Old Town of Gdansk.[459]

The architecture of Gdansk is mostly of the Hanseatic variety, a Gothic style common among the former trading cities along the Baltic Sea and in the northern part of Central Europe. The architectural style of Wroclaw is mainly representative of German architecture since it was for centuries located within the Holy Roman Empire. The centres of Kazimierz Dolny and Sandomierz on the Vistula are good examples of well-preserved medieval towns. Poland's ancient capital, Kraków, ranks among the best-preserved Gothic and Renaissance urban complexes in Europe.[460]

The second half of the 17th century is marked by baroque architecture. Side towers, such as those of Branicki Palace in Bialystok, are typical for the Polish baroque. The classical Silesian baroque is represented by the University in Wroclaw. The profuse decorations of the Branicki Palace in Warsaw are characteristic of the rococo style. The centre of Polish classicism was Warsaw under the rule of the last Polish king Stanislaw II Augustus.[461] The Palace on the Isle is a chief example of Polish neoclassical architecture. Lublin Castle represents the Gothic Revival style in architecture,[462] while the Izrael Poznanski Palace in Lódz is an example of eclecticism.[463]

Kazimierz Dolny, the town exemplifies traditional provincial Polish folk architecture.
Traditional folk architecture in the villages and small towns scattered across the vast Polish countryside was characterized by its extensive use of wood and red brick as primary building materials, common for Central Europe.[464] Some of the best preserved and oldest structures include ancient stone temples in Silesia and fortified wooden churches across southeastern Poland in the Beskids and Bieszczady regions of the Carpathian mountains.[465][466] Numerous examples of secular structures such as Polish manor houses (dworek), farmhouses (chata), granaries, mills, barns and country inns (karczma) can still be found in some Polish regions. However, traditional construction methods faded in the early-mid 20th century, when Poland's population experienced a demographic shift to urban dwelling away from the countryside.[467]

Literature
Main articles: Polish literature and History of philosophy in Poland
The earliest examples of Polish literature date to the 12th century,[468] when Poland's official language was Latin, and early published works were predominantly written by foreigners. Gallus Anonymus, a monk of disputed origin, was the first chronicler who meticulously described Poland's culture, language and territories in Gesta principum Polonorum (c. 1112–1118).[469] Latin remained the principal tool of literary expression in Poland until the 18th century, when it was replaced in favour of Polish and French. Historically, Polish literature concentrated extensively around the themes of true drama and poetic-expressive romanticism than on fiction. Patriotism, spirituality and aphorisms were paramount and political or social allegories were common moral narratives.[470][471]

Adam Mickiewicz
Adam Mickiewicz was an untiring promoter of Poland's culture and heritage. His national epic poem Pan Tadeusz is considered a masterpiece of Polish literature.
Joseph Conrad-Korzeniowski
Joseph Conrad, one of the greatest novelists of all time. He was the author of popular books such as Nostromo and Heart of Darkness.
The first documented phrase in the Polish language reads "Day ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai" ("Let me grind, and you take a rest"), reflecting the use of quern-stone in early Poland.[472] The phrase was recorded by an abbot in the Latin-based Liber fundationis from 1269 to 1273, which outlined the history of a Cistercian monastery in the Silesian village of Henryków. The sentence has been included in the UNESCO Memory of World Register.[473] The oldest extant manuscript of fine prose in Old Polish is the Holy Cross Sermons, and the earliest religious text is the Bible of Queen Sophia.[474] One of the first printing houses was established by Kasper Straube in the 1470s, while Jan Haller was considered the pioneer of commercial print in Poland. Haller's Calendarium cracoviense, an astronomical wall calendar from 1474, is Poland's oldest surviving print.[475]

The tradition of extending Polish historiography in Latin was subsequently inherited by Vincent Kadlubek, Bishop of Kraków in the 13th century, and Jan Dlugosz in the 15th century.[476] This practice, however, was abandoned by Jan Kochanowski, who became one of the first Polish Renaissance authors to write most of his works in Polish, along with Nicholas Rey.[477] Other writers of the Polish Renaissance include Johannes Dantiscus, Andreus Fricius Modrevius, Matthias Sarbievius, Piotr Skarga and Klemens "Ianicius" Janicki, who was laureled by the Pope. The leading figure of the Polish Reformation was theologian and writer John Laski, who, with the permission of King Edward VI of England, created the European Protestant Congregation of London in 1550.[478]

Banquet in Nero's Palace, an illustration from a 1910 print of Quo Vadis, a historical novel written by Nobel Prize laureate Henryk Sienkiewicz
During the Baroque era, the Jesuits greatly influenced Polish literature and literary techniques, often relying on God and religious matters.[479] The leading baroque poet was Jan Andrzej Morsztyn, who incorporated Marinism into his publications. Jan Chryzostom Pasek, also a respected baroque writer, is mostly remembered for his tales and memoirs reflecting sarmatian culture in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[480] Subsequently, the Polish Enlightenment was headed by Samuel Linde, Hugo Kollataj, Izabela Czartoryska and Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz. In 1776, Ignacy Krasicki composed the first milestone novel entitled The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom.[481]

Among the best known Polish Romantics are the "Three Bards" – the three national poets active in the age of foreign partitions – Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Slowacki and Zygmunt Krasinski.[482] The narrative poem Pan Tadeusz by Mickiewicz is Poland's national epic and a compulsory reading (lektura) in the country's schools.[483] Joseph Conrad, the son of dramatist Apollo Korzeniowski, came to fame with his English-language novels and stories that are informed with elements of the Polish national experience.[484][485] Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Nostromo and Lord Jim are believed to be one of the finest works ever written, placing him among the greatest novelists of all time.[486][487] Modern Polish literature is versatile, with its fantasy genre having been particularly praised.[488] The philosophical sci-fi novel Solaris is an acclaimed example of Stanislaw Lem's literary legacy, whereas The Witcher, a fantasy series by Andrzej Sapkowski, is a much-celebrated work of contemporary Polish fiction.[489]

In the 20th century, five Polish authors were awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature – Henryk Sienkiewicz for Quo Vadis, Wladyslaw Reymont for The Peasants, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Czeslaw Milosz and Wislawa Szymborska.[490][491] In 2019, Polish author Olga Tokarczuk was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for the year 2018.[492]

Cuisine
Main article: Polish cuisine

Selection of hearty traditional comfort food from Poland including bigos, cabbage rolls, zurek, pierogi, oscypek and specialty breads
Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to become highly eclectic due to Poland's history. Polish cuisine shares many similarities with other Central European cuisines, especially German and Austrian[493] as well as Jewish,[494] French, Italian and Turkish culinary traditions.[495] Polish-styled cooking in other cultures is often referred to as cuisine à la polonaise.[496]

Polish dishes are usually rich in meat, especially pork, chicken and beef (depending on the region), winter vegetables (sauerkraut cabbage in bigos), and spices.[497] It is also characteristic in its use of various kinds of noodles, the most notable of which are kluski, as well as cereals such as kasha (from the Polish word kasza)[498] and a variety of breads like the world-renowned bagel. Polish cuisine is hearty and uses a lot of cream and eggs. Festive meals such as the meatless Christmas Eve dinner (Wigilia) or Easter breakfast could take days to prepare in their entirety.[499]

Bagels, made from yeasted wheat dough, originated in Poland.
The main course usually includes a serving of meat, such as roast, chicken, or kotlet schabowy (breaded pork cutlet), vegetables, side dishes and salads, including surówka [su'rufka] – shredded root vegetables with lemon and sugar (carrot, celeriac, seared beetroot) or sauerkraut (Polish: kapusta kiszona, pronounced [ka'pusta k?i'??na]). The side dishes are usually potatoes, rice or cereal. Meals conclude with a dessert such as sernik (cheesecake), makowiec (poppy seed pastry), or napoleonka (cream pie).[500]

The Polish national dishes are bigos ['big?s]; pierogi [p??'r?g?i]; kielbasa; kotlet schabowy ['k?tl?t sxa'b?v?] breaded cutlet; golabki [g?'w?~pk?i] cabbage rolls; zrazy ['zraz?] roulade; pieczen roast ['p??t????]; sour cucumber soup (zupa ogórkowa, pronounced ['zupa ?gur'k?va]); mushroom soup, (zupa grzybowa, ['zupa g??'b?va] quite different from the North American cream of mushroom); zupa pomidorowa tomato soup pronounced ['zupa p?mid?'r?va];[501] rosól ['r??uw] variety of meat broth; zurek ['?ur?k] sour rye soup; flaki ['flak?i] tripe soup; barszcz [bar?t??] and chlodnik ['xw?d?ik] among others.[502]

Traditional alcoholic beverages include honey mead, widespread since the 13th century, beer, wine and vodka (old Polish names include okowita and gorzala).[503] The world's first written mention of vodka originates from Poland.[504] The most popular alcoholic drinks at present are beer and wine which took over from vodka more popular in the years 1980–1998.[505] Tea remains common in Polish society since the 19th century, whilst coffee is drunk widely since the 18th century.[506] Other frequently consumed beverages include various mineral waters and juices, soft drinks popularized by the fast-food chains since the late 20th century, as well as buttermilk, soured milk and kefir.[507]

Fashion and design
Further information: Category:Polish fashion

Traditional Polish polonaise dresses, 1780–85
The particular clothing styles in Poland evolved with each century. In the 1600s high-class noblemen and magnates developed a strong sympathy for Orientalism, which was also common in other parts of Europe and became known as Sarmatism.[508] The attire mediated between Western and Ottoman styles[508] and outfits included a zupan, delia, kontusz, pas, decorative karabela swords and less often turbans brought by foreign merchants. The period of Polish Sarmatism eventually faded in the wake of the 18th century.

The Polish national dress as well as the fashion and etiquette of Poland also reached the royal court at Versailles in the 1700s. French dresses inspired by Polish attire were called à la polonaise, meaning "Polish-styled". The most famous example is the robe à la polonaise, a woman's garment with draped and swagged overskirt, worn over an underskirt or petticoat.[509] Another notable example is the Witzchoura, a long mantle with collar and hood, which was possibly introduced by Napoleon's Polish mistress Maria Walewska. The scope of influence also entailed furniture; rococo Polish beds with canopies became commonplace in French palaces during the 18th century.[510]

Reserved is Poland's most successful clothing retailer, operating over 1,700 stores worldwide.
Several Polish designers and stylists left a lifelong legacy of beauty inventions and cosmetics, most notable being Maksymilian Faktorowicz and Helena Rubinstein. Faktorowicz created a line of cosmetics company in California known as Max Factor and coined the term "make-up" based on the verb phrase "to make up" one's face, now widely used as an alternative for describing cosmetics.[511] Faktorowicz also raised to fame by inventing modern eyelash extensions and by providing services to Hollywood artists.[512][513]

As of 2020, Poland possesses the fifth-largest cosmetic market in Europe.[514][515] Founded in 1983, Inglot Cosmetics is the country's largest beauty products manufacturer and retailer active in 700 locations worldwide, including retail salons in New York City, London, Milan, Dubai and Las Vegas.[516][517] Established in 1999, the retail store Reserved is Poland's most successful clothing store chain, operating over 1,700 retail shops in 19 countries.[518][519][520] Internationally successful models from Poland include Anja Rubik, Joanna Krupa, Jac Jagaciak, Kasia Struss, Malgosia Bela, and Magdalena Frackowiak.[521]

Cinema
Main articles: Cinema of Poland and Theatre of Poland

Andrzej Wajda was one of the greatest Polish film directors, and the recipient of a Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Golden Bear Awards.
The history of Polish cinema is as long as the history of cinematography itself. Over the decades, Poland has produced outstanding directors, film producers, cartoonists and actors that achieved world fame, especially in Hollywood. Moreover, Polish inventors played an important role in the development of world cinematography and modern-day television. Among the most famous directors and producers, who worked in Poland as well as abroad are Roman Polanski, Andrzej Wajda, Samuel Goldwyn, the Warner brothers (Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack), Max Fleischer, Lee Strasberg, Agnieszka Holland and Krzysztof Kieslowski.[522]

In the 19th century, throughout partitioned Poland, numerous amateur inventors, such as Kazimierz Prószynski, were eager to construct a film projector. In 1894, Prószynski was successful in creating a Pleograph, one of the first cameras in the world. The invention, which took photographs and projected pictures, was built before the Lumière brothers lodged their patent.[523] He also patented an Aeroscope, the first successful hand-held operated film camera. In 1897, Jan Szczepanik, obtained a British patent for his Telectroscope. This prototype of television could easily transmit image and sound, thus allowing a live remote view.[523]

Polish cinema developed rapidly in the interwar period. The most renowned star of the silent film era was Polish actress Pola Negri. During this time, the Yiddish cinema also evolved in Poland. Films in the Yiddish language with Jewish themes, such as The Dybbuk (1937), played an important part in pre-war Polish cinematography. In 1945 the government established 'Film Polski', a state-run film production and distribution organization, with director Aleksander Ford as the head of the company. Ford's Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960) was viewed by millions of people in the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and France.[524] This success was followed by the historical films of Jerzy Hoffman and Andrzej Wajda. Wajda's 1975 film The Promised Land was nominated at the 48th Academy Awards.[525]

In 2015, Ida by Pawel Pawlikowski won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[526] In 2019, Pawlikowski received an Academy Award for Best Director nomination for his historical drama Cold War. Other well-known Polish Oscar-winning productions include The Pianist (2002) by Roman Polanski.[527]

Media
Main articles: Television in Poland and Media of Poland
Further information: Category:Video gaming in Poland

Headquarters of the publicly funded national television network TVP in Warsaw
Poland has a number of major media outlets, chief among which are the national television channels. TVP is Poland's public broadcasting corporation; about a third of its income comes from a broadcast receiver licence, while the rest is made through revenue from commercials and sponsorships. State television operates two mainstream channels, TVP 1 and TVP 2, as well as regional programs for each of the country's 16 voivodeships (as TVP 3). In addition to these general channels, TVP runs a number of genre-specific programmes such as TVP Sport, TVP Historia, TVP Kultura, TVP Rozrywka, TVP Seriale and TVP Polonia, the latter is a state-run channel dedicated to the transmission of Polish language television for the Polish diaspora. Poland has several 24-hour news channels such as Polsat News, TVP Info and TVN 24.[528] Poland also possesses a variety of free-to-air television channels, chiefly TVN, Polsat and TV4.

Intel Extreme Masters, an eSports video game tournament in Katowice
In Poland, there are also daily newspapers like Gazeta Wyborcza ("Electoral Gazette"), Rzeczpospolita ("The Republic") and Gazeta Polska Codziennie ("Polish Daily Newspaper") which provide traditional opinion and news, and tabloids such as Fakt and Super Express. Weeklies include Tygodnik Angora, W Sieci, Polityka, Wprost, Newsweek Polska, Gosc Niedzielny and Gazeta Polska.[529]

Poland has also emerged as a major hub for video game developers in Europe, with the country now being home to hundreds of studios. Among the most successful ones are CD Projekt, Techland, CI Games and People Can Fly.[530] Some of the most popular video games developed in Poland include The Witcher trilogy.[531][532] Katowice hosts Intel Extreme Masters, one of the biggest eSports events in the world.[533]

Sports
Main article: Sport in Poland

The Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw, home of the national football team, and one of the host stadiums of Euro 2012.
Volleyball and Association football are among the country's most popular sports, with a rich history of international competitions.[534][535] Track and field, basketball, handball, boxing, MMA, motorcycle speedway, ski jumping, cross-country skiing, ice hockey, tennis, fencing, swimming and weightlifting are other popular sports.

The golden era of football in Poland occurred throughout the 1970s and went on until the early 1980s when the Polish national football team achieved their best results in any FIFA World Cup competitions finishing 3rd place in the 1974 and the 1982 tournaments. The team won a gold medal in football at the 1972 Summer Olympics and two silver medals, in 1976 and in 1992. In 2012, Poland co-hosted the UEFA European Football Championship.[536]

Motorcycle speedway (zuzel) racing is a very popular motorsport in Poland.[537]
As of May 2021, the Polish men's national volleyball team is ranked as 2nd in the world.[538] Volleyball team won a gold medal in Olympic 1976 Montreal and three gold medals in FIVB World Championship 1974, 2014 and 2018.[539][540] Mariusz Pudzianowski is a highly successful strongman competitor and has won more World's Strongest Man titles than any other competitor in the world, winning the event in 2008 for the fifth time.[541]

Poland has made a distinctive mark in motorcycle speedway racing thanks to Tomasz Gollob and Bartosz Zmarzlik, highly successful Polish riders. The top Ekstraliga division has one of the highest average attendances for any sport in Poland. The national speedway team of Poland is one of the major teams in international speedway.[542]

Poles made significant achievements in mountaineering, in particular, in the Himalayas and the winter ascending of the eight-thousanders. Polish mountains are one of the tourist attractions of the country. Hiking, climbing, skiing and mountain biking and attract numerous tourists every year from all over the world.[331] Water sports are the most popular summer recreation activities, with ample locations for fishing, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and windsurfing especially in the northern regions of the country.[543]

See also
flag Poland portal
map Europe portal
List of Poles
Outline of Poland
List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe
Central Europe
Notes
Many declared more than one ethnic or national identity. The percentages of ethnic Poles and minorities depend on how they are counted. 94.83% declared exclusively Polish identity, 96.88% declared Polish as their first identity and 97.10% as either first or second identity. Around 98% declared some sort of Polish as their first identity.
The adoption of Christianity in Poland is seen by many Poles, regardless of their religious affiliation or lack thereof, as one of the most significant events in their country's history, as it was used to unify the Polish tribes.[5]
The area of Poland, as given by the Central Statistical Office, is 312,679 km2 (120,726 sq mi), of which 311,888 km2 (120,421 sq mi) is land and 791 km2 (305 sq mi) is internal water surface area.[8]
Polish: Rzeczpospolita Polska [??t??p?'sp?lita 'p?lska] (About this soundlisten)
The Polish word "sanacja" is defined identically as "l[acinski]: uzdrowienie (L[atin]: healing) in Slownik wyrazów obcych [Dictionary of Foreign Expressions], 1918 (8 years before Pilsudski's May Coup);[150] and in M. Arcta slownik wyrazów obcych [Michal Arct's Dictionary of Foreign Expressions], 1947.[151] Slownik wyrazów obcych PWN [PWN Dictionary of Foreign Expressions], 1971,[152] defines the expression as follows: "sanacja lac. sanatio = uzdrowienie" (sanation, from Lat[in] sanatio = healing) 1. w Polsce miedzywojennej — obóz Józefa Pilsudskiego, który pod haslem uzdrowienia stosunków politycznych i zycia publicznego dokonal przewrotu wojskowego w maju 1926 r.... (1. in interwar Poland, the camp of Józef Pilsudski, who worked in a military coup in May 1926 under the banner of healing politics and public life...) 2. rzad[ko uzywany]: uzdrowienie, np. stosunków w jakiejs instytucji, w jakims kraju. (2. rare[ly used]: healing, e.g., of an institution, of a country.)
British code-breaker Gordon Welchman said: "Ultra would never have gotten off the ground if we had not learned from the Poles, in the nick of time, the details both of the German military version of the commercial Enigma machine, and of the operating procedures that were in use."[158]
Numerous sources state that Polish Army was the Allies' fourth biggest fighting contingent. Steven J. Zaloga and Richard Hook write that "by the war's end the Polish Army was the fourth largest contingent of the Allied coalition after the armed forces of the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom".[159] Jerzy Jan Lerski writes "All in all, the Polish units, although divided and controlled by different political orientation, constituted the fourth largest Allied force, after the America, British and Soviet Armies."[160] M. K. Dziewanowski has noted that "if Polish forces fighting in the east and west were added to the resistance fighters, Poland had the fourth largest Allied army in the war (after the USSR, the U.S. and Britain)".[161]
The claim of the fourth biggest Ally needs to be reconsidered, however. Throughout the war, Poland's position varied from the 2nd biggest Ally (after the fall of France, when Polish army outnumbered the French) to perhaps the 5th at the end of it (after the US, Soviet Union, China and Britain). Please see the analysis in Polish contribution to World War II.
Sources vary with regards to what was the largest resistance movement during World War II. The confusion often stems from the fact that as the war progressed, some resistance movements grew larger – and other diminished. Polish territories were mostly freed from Nazi German control in the years 1944–45, eliminating the need for their respective (anti-Nazi) partisan forces in Poland (although the cursed soldiers continued to fight against the Soviets). Several sources note that Polish Armia Krajowa was the largest resistance movement in Nazi-occupied Europe. Norman Davies wrote: "Armia Krajowa (Home Army), the AK, which could fairly claim to be the largest of European resistance";[165] Gregor Dallas wrote "Home Army (Armia Krajowa or AK) in late 1943 numbered around 400000, making it the largest resistance organization in Europe";[166] Mark Wyman wrote "Armia Krajowa was considered the largest underground resistance unit in wartime Europe".[167] Certainly, Polish resistance was the largest resistance till German invasion of Yugoslavia and invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. After that point, the numbers of Soviet partisans and Yugoslav partisans begun growing rapidly. The numbers of Soviet partisans quickly caught up and were similar to that of the Polish resistance.[168][169] The numbers of Tito's Yugoslav partisans were roughly similar to those of the Polish and Soviet partisans in the first years of the war (1941–42), but grew rapidly in the latter years, outnumbering the Polish and Soviet partisans by 2:1 or more (estimates give Yugoslavian forces about 800,000 in 1945, to Polish and Soviet forces of 400,000 in 1944).[169][170]
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