1.
Avro Lancaster
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The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber designed and built by Avro for the Royal Air Force. The Lanc, as it was known, thus became one of the more famous and most successful of the Second World War night bombers. The Lancaster, an evolution of the troublesome Avro Manchester, was designed by Roy Chadwick and was powered by four Rolls-Royce Merlins, or, in one version and this was the largest payload of any bomber in the war. In 1943, a Lancaster was converted to become an engine test bed for the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2 turbojet, Lancasters were later used to test other engines, including the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba and Rolls-Royce Dart turboprops, and the Avro Canada Orenda and STAL Dovern turbojets. Postwar, the Lancaster was supplanted as the RAFs main strategic bomber by the Avro Lincoln, the Lancaster took on the role of long range anti-submarine patrol aircraft and air-sea rescue. In March 1946, a Lancastrian of BSAA flew the first scheduled flight from the new London Heathrow Airport, the resulting aircraft was the Manchester, which, although a capable aircraft, was underpowered and troubled by the unreliability of the Vulture engine. Only 200 Manchesters were built, with the type withdrawn from service in 1942, at first the aircraft was called Avro Type 683 Manchester III and later renamed the Lancaster. The prototype aircraft BT308 was assembled by the Avro experimental flight department at Ringway Airport, test pilot H. A. Bill Thorn took the controls for its first flight at Ringway, on Thursday,9 January 1941. The aircraft proved to be an improvement on its predecessor. Some of the orders for Manchesters were changed in favour of Lancasters. The Lancaster discarded the stubby central third tail fin of the early Manchesters and used the wider span tailplane, the majority of Lancasters built during the war years were manufactured by Avro at their factory at Chadderton near Oldham, Greater Manchester and test flown from Woodford Aerodrome in Cheshire. Other Lancasters were built by Metropolitan-Vickers and Armstrong Whitworth, the Lancaster B III had Packard Merlin engines but was otherwise identical to contemporary B Is, with 3,030 B IIIs built, almost all at Avros Newton Heath factory. The B I and B III were built concurrently and minor modifications were made to both marks as new batches were ordered, of later variants, only the Canadian-built Lancaster B X, manufactured by Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, was produced in significant numbers. The first Lancaster produced in Canada was named the Ruhr Express, the first batch of Canadian Lancasters delivered to England suffered from faulty ailerons. This was traced to the use of unskilled labourers, the Lancaster is a mid-wing cantilever monoplane with an oval all-metal fuselage. The wing was constructed in five sections, the fuselage in five sections. All wing and fuselage sections were built separately and fitted all the required equipment before final assembly. The tail unit had twin fins and rudders
Avro Lancaster
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Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
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Three Avro Lancaster B.Is of 44 Squadron, 1942
Avro Lancaster
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The bomb aimer on a Lancaster B Mark I at his position in the nose
Avro Lancaster
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Lancaster pilot at the controls, left, flight engineer at right
2.
Royal Air Force
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The Royal Air Force is the United Kingdoms aerial warfare force. Formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. The RAF describe its mission statement as, an agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission. The mission statement is supported by the RAFs definition of air power, Air power is defined as the ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events. Today the Royal Air Force maintains a fleet of various types of aircraft. The majority of the RAFs rotary-wing aircraft form part of the tri-service Joint Helicopter Command in support of ground forces, most of the RAFs aircraft and personnel are based in the UK, with many others serving on operations or at long-established overseas bases. It was founded on 1 April 1918, with headquarters located in the former Hotel Cecil, during the First World War, by the amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps, at that time it was the largest air force in the world. The RAFs naval aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm, was founded in 1924, the RAF developed the doctrine of strategic bombing which led to the construction of long-range bombers and became its main bombing strategy in the Second World War. The RAF underwent rapid expansion prior to and during the Second World War, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan of December 1939, the air forces of British Commonwealth countries trained and formed Article XV squadrons for service with RAF formations. Many individual personnel from countries, and exiles from occupied Europe. By the end of the war the Royal Canadian Air Force had contributed more than 30 squadrons to serve in RAF formations, additionally, the Royal Australian Air Force represented around nine percent of all RAF personnel who served in the European and Mediterranean theatres. In the Battle of Britain in 1940, the RAF defended the skies over Britain against the numerically superior German Luftwaffe, the largest RAF effort during the war was the strategic bombing campaign against Germany by Bomber Command. Following victory in the Second World War, the RAF underwent significant re-organisation, during the early stages of the Cold War, one of the first major operations undertaken by the Royal Air Force was in 1948 and the Berlin Airlift, codenamed Operation Plainfire. Before Britain developed its own nuclear weapons the RAF was provided with American nuclear weapons under Project E and these were initially armed with nuclear gravity bombs, later being equipped with the Blue Steel missile. Following the development of the Royal Navys Polaris submarines, the nuclear deterrent passed to the navys submarines on 30 June 1969. With the introduction of Polaris, the RAFs strategic nuclear role was reduced to a tactical one and this tactical role was continued by the V bombers into the 1980s and until 1998 by Tornado GR1s. For much of the Cold War the primary role of the RAF was the defence of Western Europe against potential attack by the Soviet Union, with many squadrons based in West Germany. With the decline of the British Empire, global operations were scaled back, despite this, the RAF fought in many battles in the Cold War period
Royal Air Force
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A later version of the
Spitfires which played a major part in the
Battle of Britain.
Royal Air Force
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Royal Air Force emblem
Royal Air Force
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The
Avro Lancaster heavy bomber was extensively used during the strategic bombing of Germany.
Royal Air Force
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The
Handley Page Victor bomber was a
strategic bomber of the RAF's
V bomber force used to carry both conventional and
nuclear bombs.
3.
RAF Coningsby
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The station is commanded by Group Captain Jez Attridge. No 11 Squadron joined the station as a Typhoon unit in 2006, the station is also home to No.121 Expeditionary Air Wing. RAF Coningsby was opened in 1940 as a bomber station, No.106 Squadron RAF arrived in February 1941 and No.97 Squadron arrived in March 1941. Hard runways were laid in early 1943 in preparation for heavy bombers being stationed, No.617 Squadron were at the station from August 1943 – January 1944. Their officers mess was the Petwood Hotel at Woodhall Spa,61 Squadron were stationed with Lancasters from February–April 1944. On 12 November,61 Squadron aircraft equipped with Tallboy bombs sank the Tirpitz in Operation Catechism,175 aircraft were lost during the war. Following the Second World War, it had the Mosquito-equipped 109 Sqn and 139 Sqn, then part of 3 Group. On 17 August 1953 52-year-old Air Vice-Marshal William Brook, the AOC of 3 Group, took off from the base in a Gloster Meteor, the airfield received its first jet aircraft—the English Electric Canberra—in 1953. During 1956 the station expanded with the runway being extended, avro Vulcans arrived in 1962, which were transferred to RAF Cottesmore in November 1964. The TSR2 was planned to join 40 Sqn at Coningsby in 1968, TSR = Tactical Strike Reconnaisance, it was a replacement for the successful Canberra. The TSR2s intended replacement—the General Dynamics F-111—was shelved on 16 January 1968 when its costs overshot the UKs budget, the TSR2 had large development costs, whereas the F-111 could be bought off the shelf. 50 F-111Ks were planned with 100 AFVGs, Denis Healey claimed the F-111s and AFVGs would be cheaper than the TSR2 programme by £700m.1154 and HS.681 were cancelled at the same time. After a parliament debate on 1 May 1967 about the prices of both F-111 and TSR2, Denis Healey simply wanted an aircraft programme that involved no research & development. AFVGs were also planned to replace the Buccaneer in the Royal Navy—Tornados were never were flown by the Royal Navy, as the carriers for them, the CVA-01s, were cancelled. Eagle was never converted to Phantom use as it was deemed too expensive, Phantoms first saw operational service with the Fleet Air Arm in 1970. The first Phantom FGR2 arrived at Coningsby on 23 August 1968, air-defence Phantoms also entered service in 1969 at RAF Leuchars. On 18 May 1970, a Phantom flew from the base non-stop to RAF Tengah, in April 1968, Strike Command was formed and the airfield was transferred to 38 Group. 41 Sqn joined in April 1972, and stayed until 1977, the other ground attack Phantom squadrons were at RAF Bruggen
RAF Coningsby
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The airfield seen from
Tattershall Castle
RAF Coningsby
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617 Squadron memorial at
Woodhall Spa nearby, to the north
RAF Coningsby
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RAF Phantom from No. 43 Squadron
RAF Coningsby
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Tornado ADV (F3) of No. 29 Squadron
4.
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
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The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The flight is part of No.1 Group RAF, flying out of RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire. IIa. In 2011 she was repainted in the 41 Squadron code EB-G, which represents the aircraft flown by Pilot Officer Eric Lock on 5 September 1940, the Mk Vb Spitfire, AB910, escorted convoys in the Battle of the Atlantic. She then flew escort patrols during bombing raids on the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, then, AB910 now wears the 133 squadron codes MD-E which she actually wore during the Dieppe Raid. The Mk LFIXe Spitfire, MK356, was built in March 1944 with clipped wings optimised for low level flight, and fitted with a Merlin 66 engine. Allocated to the Royal Canadian Air Force 144 wing, based in locations around southern England. After the war she served as a guardian at Hawkinge and Locking. As of 2008, she is displayed in a paint scheme used in late 1944 fighter/bomber missions over the Balkans from bases in Southern Italy. There are also two PRXIX Spitfires, both built in 1945 with Griffon 66 engines, pS915 performed various reconnaissance duties at Wunsdorf in Germany. She returned to the UK in 1954, and was retired to gate guarding duties, in 1987 she was modified with a Griffon 58 engine and refurbished to flying condition by British Aerospace. The ground crew painted the inscription The Last, on PS 915s left engine cowling. One Mark XIX Spitfire, PS853, was sold in 1994 to defray the costs of rebuilding Hurricane LF363 after her crash-landing on the runway at RAF Wittering due to failure in 1991. The BBMF pilot escaped with an ankle and minor bruises. Spitfire Mark XVI TE311 was acquired in 2002 and initially allocated for spares, TE311 was made airworthy in the later stages of the 2012 display season and will be joining the flight to carry out commemorative sorties in 2013. LF363 is a Mk IIc and the last Hurricane to have entered service with the RAF and she appeared in the films Angels One Five, Reach for the Sky, The Battle of Britain and a TV series The War in the Air. PZ865, is a Mk IIc built six months after LF363 and she once wore the inscription The last of the Many on her port and starboard sides - the original fabric with this inscription is now located in the BBMF Headquarters at RAF Coningsby. The Lancaster bomber - PA474, acquired by the BBMF in 1973, is one of two surviving airworthy examples of the type, the other is in Canada. She was built in mid-1945 and assigned to duties after appearing too late to take part in the bombing of Japan
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
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A typical formation: bottom -
Hawker Hurricane, middle -
Avro Lancaster and top -
Supermarine Spitfire
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
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Battle of Britain Memorial Flight badge
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
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Spitfire AB910, built in 1941, she is painted in the colours of the Polish
303 Squadron; the Donald Duck symbol is the personal logo of Squadron Leader
Jan Zumbach
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
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Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Spitfire IX, MK356, 21-V, at RAF Coltishall in October 2006
5.
RAF Bomber Command
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RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAFs bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bombing campaign against Germany became less restrictive and increasingly targeted industrial sites, in total 364,514 operational sorties were flown,1,030,500 tons of bombs were dropped and 8,325 aircraft lost in action. Bomber Command crews also suffered a casualty rate,55,573 were killed out of a total of 125,000 aircrew, a further 8,403 were wounded in action. Bomber Command stood at the peak of its military power in the 1960s, the V bombers holding the United Kingdoms nuclear deterrent. In August 2006, a memorial was unveiled at Lincoln Cathedral, a memorial in Green Park in London was unveiled by the Queen on 28 June 2012 to highlight the price paid by the aircrews. At the time of the formation of Bomber Command in 1936, Giulio Douhets slogan the bomber will always get through was popular, until advances in radar technology in the late 1930s, this statement was effectively true. Attacking bombers could not be detected early enough to assemble fighters fast enough to prevent them reaching their targets. Some damage might be done to the bombers by AA guns, and by fighters as the returned to base. Consequently, the conception of Bomber Command was as an entity that threatened the enemy with utter destruction. In 1936, Germanys increasing air power was feared by British government planners who commonly overestimated its size, reach, planners used estimates of up to 72 British deaths per tonne of bombs dropped, though this figure was grossly exaggerated. As well, the planners did not know that German bombing aircraft of the day did not have the range to reach the UK with a load of bombs, British air officers did nothing to correct these perceptions because they could see the usefulness of having a strong bombing arm. At the start of the Second World War in 1939, Bomber Command faced four problems, the first was lack of size, Bomber Command was not large enough effectively to operate as an independent strategic force. The second was rules of engagement, at the start of the war, the third problem was the Commands lack of technology, specifically radio or radar derived navigational aids to allow accurate target location at night or through cloud. The fourth problem was the accuracy of bombing, especially from high level. When the war began on 1 September 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the neutral United States, the French and British agreed to abide by the request, provided that these same rules of warfare will be scrupulously observed by all of their opponents. British policy was to restrict bombing to military targets and infrastructure, such as ports, while acknowledging that bombing Germany would cause civilian casualties, the British government renounced deliberate bombing of civilian property as a military tactic. The British abandoned this policy at the end of the Phoney War, or Sitzkrieg, on 15 May 1940, one day after the Rotterdam Blitz
RAF Bomber Command
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Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
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A photograph taken during a typical RAF night attack with
Avro Lancasters far below
RAF Bomber Command
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97 percent of
Wesel was destroyed before it was taken by Allied troops.
RAF Bomber Command
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Thor missile launch, code name "Bean Ball", Vandenberg AFB, 3 August 1959. The third of 21 Thor missiles launched by RAF crews
6.
Second World War
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
Second World War
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Clockwise from top left: Chinese forces in the
Battle of Wanjialing, Australian
25-pounder guns during the
First Battle of El Alamein, German
Stuka dive bombers on the
Eastern Front in December 1943, a U.S. naval force in the
Lingayen Gulf,
Wilhelm Keitel signing the
German Instrument of Surrender, Soviet troops in the
Battle of Stalingrad
Second World War
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The
League of Nations assembly, held in
Geneva,
Switzerland, 1930
Second World War
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Adolf Hitler at a German
National Socialist political rally in
Weimar, October 1930
Second World War
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Italian soldiers recruited in 1935, on their way to fight the
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
7.
List of surviving Avro Lancasters
–
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined heavy bomber used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries during the Second World War. There are 17 known largely complete Avro Lancasters remaining in the world, on display Lancaster B I W4783 G-George - on display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. This aircraft was operated by No.460 Squadron RAAF during World War II and it was flown to Australia during the war for fundraising purposes, and was assigned the Australian serial A66-2. The aircraft underwent a restoration between 1999 and 2003. Lancaster B VII NX622 - on display at the RAAF Association Museum in Bull Creek and it served with the Aeronavale as WU-16 from 1952 until 1962, when it was donated to the RAAF Association. A guided tour of the inside of this Lancaster is available by prior arrangement, Canada is home to most of the 17 surviving Lancaster aircraft. These include one of only two examples in existence in the world. As well one is undergoing restoration to airworthiness, and one can taxi on its own power, airworthy Lancaster B X FM213 - airworthy with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum out of Hamilton, Ontario as C-GVRA. Built at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, in 1945 and it was later used for Search and Rescue operations under Maritime Air Command) before being retired from service on 6 November 1963. It was displayed in Goderich, Ontario from 1964 to 1977 then stored at Dunnville, FM213 had 4,392.3 hours on the airframe when it was handed over. It would probably have been sold for scrap metal except for the intervention of The Royal Canadian Legion branch in Goderich, the aircraft was acquired by Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in 1978, underwent a 10-year restoration, and has remained airworthy since 1988. The aircraft is flown in the paint scheme of KB726 coded VR-A and it has thus been named the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster, but is known colloquially as Vera. C-GVRA departed Hamilton, Ontario on 4 August 2014, to part in a series of events in the UK in formation with the worlds only other airworthy Lancaster, PA474, during August. The North Atlantic crossing included en-route stops at Goose Bay Canada, Narsarsuaq Greenland and this was purported to be the first Atlantic crossing by a Lancaster since 1975. On display Lancaster B X FM136 - on display at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary in Calgary, manufactured in 1945 by Victory Aircraft, this aircraft was assigned to No.20 and 30 Maintenance Units in England, but was never issued to an active squadron. It returned to Canada and was converted to Maritime Reconnaissance, taken on strength by No.404 Buffalo Squadron as RX-136. Lancaster FM136 was purchased from Crown Assets Disposal Corporation by Lynn Garrison and it was subsequently moved to Aerospace Museum of Calgary in 1992. A new shelter was built for it in 2007, FM159 - on display at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta
List of surviving Avro Lancasters
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The Lancaster Mk X C-GVRA (the former "FM213") of the
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum painted as "KB726" coded "VR-A" and called the "Mynarski Memorial" Lancaster
List of surviving Avro Lancasters
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PA474 and C-GVRA during a display in 2014
List of surviving Avro Lancasters
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Lancaster B I W4783
G for George
List of surviving Avro Lancasters
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Lancaster FM213, Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
8.
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
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The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum is a Canadian aviation museum located at the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton, Ontario, the museum has 36 military jets, propeller-driven aircraft and helicopters on display. Displayed is a collection of Canadian military aircraft, many in flying condition, the museum is also restoring several Second World War and Cold War aircraft, including a TBM Avenger a De Havilland Canada built S-2 Tracker and a Bristol Bolingbroke. The flying collection performs at air shows and is available for local flights by museum visitors. The Avro Lancaster flown by the museum is one of only two airworthy Lancasters in the world, known as the Mynarski Memorial Lancaster in honour of Pilot Officer Andrew Charles Mynarski, it is painted in the markings of his aircraft. An Ontario Historical Plaque near the entrance commemorates Eileen Vollicks role in Ontarios heritage as Canadas first licensed female pilot, on February 15,1993, a fire destroyed one of the museum hangars. Destroyed in the fire were also the Hawker Hurricane, Grumman TBM Avenger, Auster, Stinson 105, the museums aircraft include, Fairey Firefly MK.6 Hawker Hurricane Supermarine Spitfire Mk
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
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Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
–
Avro Canada CF-100
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
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CF-104 Starfighter and
CF-101 Voodoo
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum
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Avro Lancaster
9.
Vickers-Armstrongs
–
Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, Vickers merged with the Tyneside-based engineering company Armstrong Whitworth, founded by W. G. Armstrong, to become Vickers-Armstrongs, Ltd. Armstrong Whitworth and Vickers had developed along lines, expanding into various military sectors. Armstrong Whitworth were notable for their manufacture at Elswick and shipbuilding at a yard at High Walker on the River Tyne. 1929 saw the merger of the railway business with those of Cammell Laird to form Metropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon. In 1935, before rearmament began, Vickers-Armstrongs was the third-largest manufacturing employer in Britain, behind Unilever, in 1960 the aircraft interests were merged with those of Bristol, English Electric and Hunting Aircraft to form the British Aircraft Corporation. This was owned by Vickers, English Electric and Bristol, BAC in turn owned 70% of Hunting. The Supermarine operation was closed in 1963 and the Vickers brand name for aircraft was dropped by BAC in 1965, under the terms of the Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977 BAC was nationalised to become part of British Aerospace. The Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act also led to the nationalisation of Vickers shipbuilding division as part of British Shipbuilders, Vickers Container and Packaging Machinery Division, including the Vickers Stitcher and Vickers Hardness Machine business, was bought by Fords Industrial Products, part of Barry Wehmiller in 1986. In 1991 the Vickers Hardness Machinery business was bought by the field engineers. The Vickers Stitcher was still being manufactured in India as recently as 2005, the steelmaking division became part of British Steel Corporation and the remaining interests were divested as the public company Vickers plc, whose various components were later split. The Vickers name ceased to exist in 2003 when Rolls-Royce renamed its acquisitions Vinters plc, Vickers-Armstrongs inherited the Vickers machine gun of 1912 used in World War I from Vickers Limited. An unusual machine gun also made was the Vickers Higson, Vickers produced larger weapons such as the Ordnance QF 2-pounder gun used on tanks. In 1948 Vickers bought the Australian business of Charles Ruwolt Ltd for £750,000 following Ruwolts death in 1946, during WW2 Ruwolts firm produced armaments for the Australian Government, including field artillery such as mortars and howitzer cannon. Vickers-Armstrongs was one of the most important warship manufacturers in the world and these interests were renamed as Vickers-Armstrongs Shipbuilders in 1955, changing again to Vickers Limited Shipbuilding Group in 1968. The Barrow yard was nationalised and became part of British Shipbuilders in 1977, was privatised as VSEL in 1986, the company was also known for its tank designs, starting with the widely used Vickers 6-Ton. It also produced the influential, if never actually produced, Independent A1E1 tank, one of the companys most important designs was the Valentine Infantry Tank, produced in the thousands in World War II. The military vehicle manufacturing interests were divested into Vickers plc, and would pass to Alvis Vickers, now part of BAE Systems Land
Vickers-Armstrongs
–
Vickers-Armstrongs Limited
10.
Hawarden Airport
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Hawarden Airport, is an airport near Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales, near the border with England and 3.5 NM west southwest of the English city of Chester. Aviation Park Group is based at the airport and provides handling, APG has a longterm tenancy agreement with Airbus UK, giving sole handling rights at the site. A large Airbus factory, which produces wings, is located at the airport. The factory is known as the Broughton factory, named after the nearest village, Hawarden Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee. The aircraft factory at Broughton was established early in the Second World War as a factory for Vickers-Armstrongs Limited. The factory produced 5,540 Vickers Wellingtons and 235 Avro Lancasters, pA474 is one of only two Lancaster aircraft remaining in airworthy condition out of the 7,377 that were built. PA474 is now part of the RAFs Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, post-war the factory was used by Vickers to build 28,000 aluminium prefab bungalows. It was located on the northwest portion of the airfield, no.3 Ferry Pilots Pool/Ferry Pool, Air Transport Auxiliary, was based at Hawarden between 5 November 1940 and 30 November 1945. Production was moved to the United States in 1996 when the 125 business was sold to the Raytheon Corporation, some parts continued to be manufactured at Broughton for some years after. In 1977 the Broughton factory became part of British Aerospace operations and it is now owned and operated by Airbus, and has continued to be the centre of wing production for all models of Airbus commercial aircraft. The airport land includes a ground named The Airfield, home of Welsh Premier League side Airbus UK Broughton F. C. which has movable floodlights due to its proximately to the runway. Airbus previously considered the A330-300 and A340-500 to require too much of the limited 1, 663m runway 04 at Hawarden, a runway extension was considered, but abandoned when Airbus chose the A330-200 which could use the existing runway. There are also regular Embraer EMB-145 / Embraer EMB-170 shuttle flights to Bristol Lulsgate and these were previously operatively by BMI Regional but are currently operated by Eastern Airways. There is much private and general activity at the airport, adding considerably to the number of aircraft movements. Operators include APEM Ltd Aviation Park Group, which provides air taxi and charter services, Flintshire Flying School, NWMAS, also operating from Hawarden Airport is Williams Aviation Ltd, which offers private jet charter. Clwyd County Council provided the company with a grant of £10,000 on the grounds that the service would improve communications between North East Wales and Cardiff. Notwithstanding the confined space of the aircraft, complimentary coffee was routinely served in-flight to passengers by the First Officer, an aircraft service centre managed and owned separately from the Airbus operation is also located at the airport. Raytheon Systems opened a new facility in 2003, to support the Raytheon Sentinel entering service with the Royal Air Force, Raytheon had a 125 and Beech 400 support centre on the airfield, which was renamed Hawker Beechcraft Ltd in early 2007
Hawarden Airport
–
Hawarden Airport
Hawarden Airport
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RAF Hawarden in World War II viewed from north-north-west
11.
Gun turrets
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A gun turret is a location from which weapons can be fired that affords protection, visibility, and some cone of fire. Rotating gun turrets have the protection, the weapon, and its crew rotate, when this meaning of the word turret started being used at the beginning of the 1860s, turrets were normally cylindrical. Barbettes were an alternative to turrets, with a barbette the protection was fixed, in the 1890s, armoured hoods were added to barbettes, these rotated with the platform. By the early 20th Century, these hoods were known as turrets, modern warships have gun-mountings described as turrets, though the protection on them is limited to protection from the weather. They may be manned or remotely controlled and are most often protected to some degree, a small turret, or sub-turret set on top of a larger one, is called a cupola. The term cupola is used for a rotating turret that carries a sighting device rather than weaponry. Before the development of large-calibre, long-range guns in the mid-19th century, firepower was provided by a large number of guns which could only traverse in a limited arc. Additionally casemate mounts had to be recessed into the side of a vessel to afford a wide arch of fire, designs for a rotating gun turret date back to the late 18th century. The Lady Nancy proved a success and Coles patenting his rotating turret design after the war. Coless aim was to create a ship with the greatest possible all round arc of fire, the Admiralty accepted the principle of the turret gun as a useful innovation, and incorporated it into other new designs. Coles submitted a design for a ship having ten domed turrets each housing two large guns, the design was rejected as impractical, although the Admiralty remained interested in turret ships and instructed its own designers to create better designs. Coles enlisted the support of Prince Albert, who wrote to the first Lord of the Admiralty, in January 1862, the Admiralty agreed to construct a ship, the HMS Prince Albert which had four turrets and a low freeboard, intended only for coastal defence. While Coles designed the turrets the ship was the responsibility of the chief Constructor Isaac Watts, another ship using Coles turret designs, HMS Royal Sovereign, was completed in August 1864. Its existing broadside guns were replaced with four turrets on a flat deck, early ships like the Royal Sovereign had little sea-keeping qualities being limited to coastal waters. Sir Edward James Reed, went on to design and build HMS Monarch, laid down in 1866 and completed in June 1869, it carried two turrets, although the inclusion of a forecastle and poop prevented the turret guns firing fore and aft. The gun turret was independently invented by the Swedish inventor John Ericsson in America, Ericsson designed the USS Monitor in 1861, its most prominent feature being a large cylindrical gun turret mounted amidships above the low-freeboard upper hull, also called the raft. This extended well past the sides of the lower, more traditionally shaped hull, a small armoured pilot house was fitted on the upper deck towards the bow, however, its position prevented Monitor from firing her guns straight forward. Like Coles, one of Ericssons goals in designing the ship was to present the smallest possible target to enemy gunfire, the turrets rounded shape helped to deflect cannon shot
Gun turrets
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A modern gun turret allows firing of the cannons via remote control. Loading of ammunition is also often done by automatic mechanisms.
Gun turrets
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A commander's cupola of
Conqueror tank with a machine gun.
Gun turrets
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HMS Prince Albert, a pioneering turret ship, built by naval engineer
Cowper Phipps Coles.
Gun turrets
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BEP vignette In the Turret (engraved before 1863).
12.
No. 82 Squadron RAF
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No.82 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force squadron that was first formed in 1917 and last disbanded in 1963. It continued to fly army co-operation missions until the Armistice ended the fighting on the Western Front, the squadron was disbanded on 30 June 1919. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded France and the Low Countries, on 17 May,12 unescorted Blenheims were sent to attack German forces near Gembloux, Belgium, but were intercepted by Messerschmitt Bf 109s, with eleven aircraft being lost. Despite these losses, it continued to fly missions in support of the BEF, on 13 August, a raid on an airfield at Aalborg Denmark again suffered catastrophic losses to German fighters, losing eleven out of twelve. From early 1941, the played a prominent part in No.2 Groups offensive against shipping in the English Channel. Losses continued both to fighters and to flak defences, a detachment was sent to Malta in May 1941, with the rest of the Squadron following in June. It flew ships against enemy shipping and ports through into July, once back in the UK, it continued anti-shipping strikes as part of 2 Group. The squadron left Bomber Command and relocated to RAF Cholavarum, India in early 1942, re-equipped with Vultee Vengeance dive-bombers the squadron began anti-submarine patrols on 17 November. In June 1943, the squadron began bombing operations against Imperial Japanese targets in Burma from RAF Salbani and it was deployed against the Japanese offensive against Imphal and Kohima. The squadron was re-equipped with Mosquitoes in July 1944, but was grounded due to failures in the wooden structure before commencing ground attack sorties on 19 December. These operations continued until 12 May 1945, when the squadron was withdrawn to India to prepare for the invasion of Malaya. This operation did not occur due to the end of the war, on 1 October 1946, the squadron was reformed at RAF Benson equipped with Avro Lancasters and Supermarine Spitfires to undertake aerial surveys of Nigeria, the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. The squadron moved to Kenya in October 1947, in 1952, the squadron relocated to the UK and was re-equipped with Canberras in November 1953, remaining in the reconnaissance role. On 1 September 1956 the squadron was disbanded, No.82 Squadron reformed once again on 22 July 1959 at RAF Shepherds Grove as a Thor missile unit, part of Project Emily. The upcoming ICBM missiles however soon made the Thor Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile obsolete, the unit therefore was disbanded the last time on 10 July 1963. List of UK Thor missile bases 82 Squadron
No. 82 Squadron RAF
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Formations and units
13.
South Africa
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South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and it is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different Bantu languages, the remaining population consists of Africas largest communities of European, Asian, and multiracial ancestry. South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a variety of cultures, languages. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the recognition of 11 official languages. The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup détat, however, the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. During the 20th century, the black majority sought to recover its rights from the dominant white minority, with this struggle playing a role in the countrys recent history. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation, since 1994, all ethnic and linguistic groups have held political representation in the countrys democracy, which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is often referred to as the Rainbow Nation to describe the multicultural diversity. The World Bank classifies South Africa as an economy. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa. However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed, nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs, and maintains significant regional influence. The name South Africa is derived from the geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation the country was named the Union of South Africa in English, since 1961 the long form name in English has been the Republic of South Africa. In Dutch the country was named Republiek van Zuid-Afrika, replaced in 1983 by the Afrikaans Republiek van Suid-Afrika, since 1994 the Republic has had an official name in each of its 11 official languages. Mzansi, derived from the Xhosa noun umzantsi meaning south, is a name for South Africa. South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human fossil sites in the world, extensive fossil remains have been recovered from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has termed the Cradle of Humankind
South Africa
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Mapungubwe Hill, the site of the former capital of the
Kingdom of Mapungubwe
South Africa
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Flag
South Africa
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Arrival of
Jan van Riebeeck, the first European to settle in South Africa, with
Devil's Peak in the background
South Africa
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Depiction of a
Zulu attack on a Boer camp in February 1838
14.
Flight Refuelling Ltd
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Cobham plc is a British manufacturing company based in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE250 Index, according to Defense News it is the 51st largest defense firm in the world, and the fifth largest in the UK, based on 2013 revenue. Cobham was founded as Flight Refuelling Limited at RAF Ford in Sussex by Sir Alan Cobham in 1934 and it moved to Tarrant Rushton in Dorset in 1947. It developed the probe and drogue method of refuelling in 1949. In September 1997 it acquired ML Aviation for £37 million, which had taken over Nash & Thompson, a major competitor, then in June 2008 Cobham acquired Sparta Inc. a US defence business, for $416 million. In September 2008 Cobham completed the purchase of the frequency components business of M/A-COM for $425 million. In April 2009 Cobham agreed to purchase Argotek Inc. a provider of information assurance services to the United States Intelligence Community. Then in June 2009 a Cobham – Northrop Grumman 50–50 joint venture won the US Armys US$2.4 billion competition to supply Vehicular Intercom Systems, in October 2011 Cobham Analytic Solutions was sold for $350 million to the privately owned Parsons Corporation. Then in May 2013 Cobham acquired antenna systems business, Axell Wireless, in July 2013 Cobham bought out FB Heliservices joint venture partner Bristow Helicopters. In April 2014, Cobham sold Chelton Flight Systems and S-TEC Corporation to Genesys Aerosystems, in May 2014, Cobham acquired wireless communications company, Aeroflex Holding Corporation for $1.46 billion. In August 2016, David Lockwood was named CEO, replacing Bob Murphy, Cobham is organised into three technology divisions, Mission Systems, Defence Systems, Aerospace and Surveillance. The former Aviation Services division is now a business unit within Cobham Mission Systems. The Cobham Mission Systems Division claims to be the market leader in aerial refuelling. The Cobham Defence Systems Division specialises in radar, communication and electronic warfare systems, the Cobham Aerospace and Security Division provides a range of electronic products for airborne, marine and land applications. The Cobham Aviation Services SBU operates more than 150 fixed and rotary wing aircraft around the world, carleton Life Support, a subsidiary of Cobham based in Davenport, Iowa, makes the MK16 rebreather used by the United States Navy. The company produces the Guardian ST820, a tracing device used by the American FBI. The device is secured under a car by a strong magnet and it is only available to law enforcement agencies. As described by Schneier, the call allows the sender to track the phones location to within one metre
Flight Refuelling Ltd
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Cobham plc
15.
Avro Lincoln
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The Avro Type 694, better known as the Avro Lincoln, was a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were known initially as the Lancaster IV and V but were renamed Lincoln I and it was the last piston-engined bomber used by the Royal Air Force. The Lincoln became operational in August 1945, the Lincoln was used in action during the 1950s, by the RAF in the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya and with the RAF and RAAF during the Malayan Emergency. The type also saw significant service with the Royal Australian Air Force, in Argentine service it was also replaced by the Canberra. The Avro Lincoln was Roy Chadwicks development of the Lancaster, built to the Air Ministry Specification B.5 tons of various armaments and equipment fittings. As a result of changes, the Lincoln had a higher operational ceiling and longer range than the Lancaster, having a maximum altitude of 35,000 ft. The prototype Lancaster IV was assembled by Avros experimental flight department at Manchesters Ringway Airport, separate production lines were also set up in Canada and Australia, although with the end of the war, production in Canada was halted after only one aircraft had been built. Production in Australia proceeded, the Lincolns that were manufactured there were operated by the Royal Australian Air Force. One Lincoln B Mk XV pattern aircraft was completed in Canada by Victory Aircraft. Along with two aircraft on loan from the RAF, the type was briefly evaluated postwar by the RCAF. The Lancaster V/Lincoln II differed mainly in that it was fitted with Merlin 68A engines, before the Lincoln was developed, the Australian government intended its Department of Aircraft Production, later known as the Government Aircraft Factory, would build the Lancaster Mk III. In its place, a variant of the Lincoln I, re-designated as Mk 30, was manufactured between 1946 and 1949, it has the distinction of being the largest aircraft built in Australia. Orders for a total of 85 Mk 30 Lincolns were placed by the RAAF, the first five Australian examples, were assembled using British-made components. On 17 March 1946, A73-1 conducted its début flight, the first entirely Australian-built Lincoln, the Mk 30 initially featured four Merlin 85 engines, this arrangement was later changed to a combination of two outboard Merlin 66s and two inboard Merlin 85s. A further improved version, designated as Lincoln Mk 30A. During the 1950s, the RAAF heavily modified some of their Mk 30 aircraft to perform anti-submarine warfare missions, the Mk 31 was particularly difficult to land at night, as the bomber used a tailwheel and the long nose obstructed the pilots view of the runway. 18 aircraft were rebuilt to standard in 1952, gaining new serial numbers. Ten were subsequently upgraded to MR. Mk 31 standard, which included an updated radar and these Lincolns served with No.10 Squadron RAAF at RAAF Townsville, however, the discovery of corrosion in the wing spars led to the types premature retirement in 1961
Avro Lincoln
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Lincoln
Avro Lincoln
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Royal Air Force Lincoln B.2 used by
Napier's for icing research work until 1967 (1966)
Avro Lincoln
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The Avro Lincoln A73-20 being test flown with both starboard engines feathered
Avro Lincoln
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Lineup of the first operation of
No. 1 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force at
RAF Tengah, Singapore, August 1950.
16.
Cranfield University
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Cranfield University is a British postgraduate and research-based public university specialising in science, engineering, technology and management. It contains two campuses, the campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom at Shrivenham. The main campus is unique in the United Kingdom for having an airport on campus. The airport facilities are used by Cranfield Universitys own aircraft in the course of aerospace teaching, Cranfield was founded as the College of Aeronautics in 1946, and became a university in its own right as the Cranfield Institute of Technology in 1969. Cranfield University was formed in 1946 as the College of Aeronautics, on the former Royal Air Force base of RAF Cranfield, together with other individuals, Stafford Cripps was instrumental in the foundation of the original college in 1946, from which the university developed. The Vice-Chancellors building is known as Stafford-Cripps, between 1955 and 1969 a period of diversification took place. In 1967 the college presented the Privy Council with a petition for the grant of a Royal Charter along with a charter for a new institution to be called Cranfield Institute of Technology. The Cranfield Institute of Technology was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1969, since then the former National College of Agricultural Engineering established at Silsoe near Luton, Bedfordshire, in the 1960s, was incorporated. This was relocated to the Cranfield campus and closed for teaching undergraduates in 2007 whilst retaining some postgraduate courses, an academic partnership with the Royal Military College of Science at Shrivenham was formed in 1984. RMCS became wholly postgraduate in c.2007 with undergraduate courses moved elsewhere, in 1993 the institutions Royal Charter was amended to change its name to Cranfield University. A decade later in 2003, Cranfield became wholly postgraduate and the Shrivenham site admitted its last undergraduates, in 2006, it was decided that activities on the Silsoe site would be relocated to the main campus at Cranfield. Cranfield campus is approximately 50 miles north of central London and adjacent to the village of Cranfield, the nearest large towns are Milton Keynes and Bedford, the centres of which are both about 8 miles away. Cambridge is about 30 miles east, Shrivenham is about 73 miles west of London, adjacent to Shrivenham village,7 miles from the centre of the nearest town, Swindon, and around 23 miles from Oxford. Bedford, Milton Keynes, Oxford and Swindon all have fast rail services to central London terminuses, good access to the motorway network. There are a number of companies located on the Cranfield University Technology Park ranging from international companies to small start-ups. Major companies on the park include, The Nissan Technical Centre Europe, the NTC Europe facility occupies 19,700 square metres of the Technology Park, representing an investment of £46m by Nissan. Invar Systems Limited, a supplier of Warehouse Control Systems and Warehouse Management Systems to clients in the UK, Europe. The company occupies modern air-conditioned offices with excellent facilities for clients, innovation Centre, the Technology Park is also the location for a large number of smaller companies
Cranfield University
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Cranfield University Crest
Cranfield University
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Cranfield University
Cranfield University
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The new School, 'Cranfield Health' prior to official opening, May 2008, viewed from the Library
Cranfield University
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Cranfield University Library
17.
Bedfordshire
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Bedfordshire is a county in the East of England. It is a county and a historic county, covered by three unitary authorities, Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton. Bedfordshire is bordered by Cambridgeshire to the east/northeast, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the east/southeast. It is the fourteenth most densely populated county of England, with half the population of the county living in the two largest built-up areas, Luton and the county town, Bedford. The highest elevation point is 243 metres on Dunstable Downs in the Chilterns, the traditional nickname for people from Bedfordshire is Clangers, deriving from a local dish comprising a suet crust pastry filled with meat in one end and jam in the other. The first recorded use of the name in 1011 was Bedanfordscir, meaning the shire or county of Bedford, which itself means Bedas ford. Bedfordshire was historically divided into nine hundreds, Barford, Biggleswade, Clifton, Flitt, Manshead, Redbournestoke, Stodden, Willey, Wixamtree, along with the liberty and borough of Bedford. There have been changes to the county boundary, for example, in 1897 Kensworth. The southern end of the county is on the ridge known as the Chiltern Hills. The remainder is part of the drainage basin of the River Great Ouse. Most of Bedfordshires rocks are clays and sandstones from the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, local clay has been used for brick-making of Fletton style bricks in the Marston Vale. The Greensand Ridge is an escarpment across the county from near Leighton Buzzard to near Gamlingay in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire is relatively dry, being situated in the east of England. Average annual rainfall is 597.6 millimetres at Bedford, october is the wettest month with 62.5 millimetres, February the driest with 36.7 millimetres. While there is little difference from month to month there are more wet days in autumn and winter but often heavier individual falls in spring and summer, of note were the 1998 Easter floods. Average temperatures in Bedford range from a low of 0.8 °C overnight in February to a high of 22.1 °C during the day in July, in the last 20 years the highest temperature recorded was 35.9 °C. The lowest temperature on record in Bedfordshire is −20.6 °C at Woburn on 25 February 1947, the Bedfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner is Kathryn Holloway who is a member of the Conservative Party. For local government purposes, Bedfordshire is divided into three authorities, the boroughs of Bedford and Luton, and the District of Central Bedfordshire. Bedfordshire County Council was abolished on 1 April 2009, although the three continue to form a county for ceremonial functions such as lieutenancy and High Sheriff
Bedfordshire
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Zoo
Bedfordshire
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Flag
18.
Handley Page
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Handley Page Limited was founded by Frederick Handley Page in 1909 as the United Kingdoms first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into liquidation and ceased to exist in 1970. The company, based at Radlett Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, was noted for its role in aviation history and for producing heavy bombers. Frederick Handley Page first experimented with and built several biplanes and monoplanes at premises in Woolwich, Fambridge and his company, founded on 17 June 1909, became the first British public company to build aircraft. In 1912, Handley Page established a factory at Cricklewood after moving from Barking. Aircraft were built there, and flown from the adjacent airfield known as Cricklewood Aerodrome. The factory was sold off to Oswald Stoll and converted into Britains largest film studios. Handley Page had been asked by the Admiralty to produce a bloody paralyser of an aeroplane and these aircraft included the O/100 of 1915, the O/400 of 1918 and the four-engined V/1500 with the range to reach Berlin. The V/1500 had only just entered service as the war ended in 1918. The crew departed for New York from Newfoundland but were forced to land on 5 July 1919 in Parrsboro, the Atlantic continued to New York on 9 October 1919, carrying with it the first airmail from Canada to the United States of America. In the immediate postwar years, Handley Page modified a number of O/400s to passenger use, in 1924 Handley Page Transport merged with two other regional airlines to create Imperial Airways, the UKs first national airline service. Handley Page developed several large biplane airliners, including the luxurious Handley Page H. P.42, for use on Imperial routes to Africa, the leading edge slat was simultaneously designed by the German aerodynamicist Gustav Lachmann, who was later employed by Handley Page. The design was so successful that licensing fees to companies was their main source of income in the early 1920s. In 1929, the Cricklewood Aerodrome was closed and a new one built at Radlett, however the construction of aircraft at Cricklewood continued until 1964 when the premises were sold to become the Cricklewood trading estate. With the Second World War looming, Handley Page turned back to design and produced the HP.52 Hampden. However the Vulture proved so troublesome that – years before the engine was abandoned by Rolls-Royce in 1940 – the Air Staff decided that the HP.56 should be fitted with four engines instead. Therefore, before reaching prototype stage, the HP.56 design was reworked into the four-engined HP.57 Halifax, the Halifax became the second most prolific British heavy bomber of the war after the Avro Lancaster.70 Halton. After the war, the British Government sought tenders for jet bombers to carry the nuclear deterrent
Handley Page
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Atlantic in flight, non-stop from New York to Chicago, 1919
Handley Page
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Handley Page Limited
19.
RAF Museum
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It is part of the Royal Air Force Museum, a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and a registered charity. A second collection of exhibits, plus aircraft restoration facilities, is housed at the Royal Air Force Museum Cosford at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, the museum was officially opened at the Colindale London site on 15 November 1972 by Queen Elizabeth II. The hangars housed 36 aircraft at opening, over the years, the collection increased, and aircraft not on display at Hendon were stored or displayed at smaller local RAF station museums. The first Director of the Museum was Dr John Tanner, who retired in 1987, in 1988, Dr Michael A. Fopp was appointed Director General of all three sites operated by the Museum. Retired Air Vice-Marshal Peter Dye replaced Fopp as Director General on 9 June 2010, in October 2014, it was announced that Maggie Appleton was to be appointed as CEO of the museum. Appleton took up the new role in January 2015, a departure from the role of Director General which was held by Peter Dye until his retirement in late 2014. It also includes the only complete Hawker Typhoon and the only Boulton Paul Defiant in the world, recently added to the museum is a Consolidated B-24 Liberator, which was moved to Hendon from Cosford. It was presented to the museum by the Indian Air Force, in exchange, a Vickers Valiant was sent to Cosford to become part of the new Cold War exhibition. In 2009 the museum took delivery of a FE2b World War I bomber, there is a large car park at the site, and reasonable public transport links, with Colindale tube station around a 10-minute walk away. The Battle of Britain Museum was opened by HM The Queen Mother in November 1978, the building itself must be distinguished enough to be worthy of commemorating such a feat of arms and large enough to accommodate the necessary collections and displays. The government has provided the Hendon site but, in the economic circumstances, has declined to meet any part of the capital cost. Since the Museum must be self-supporting, a Fund of £2 millions is necessary, the whole will be designed to constitute a permanent memorial to the men, women and machines involved in the great battle of 1940. Signed, Douglas Bader £1. 7m was raised to pay for the new museum within a year and this created a dedicated museum hall in which a unique collection of aircraft were displayed, along with other objects and artefacts. In April 2009, work began on The Battle of Britain Hall to improve lighting conditions and this new form of energy-saving lighting can change colour and light intensity while still being cheaper to run. It is kinder to the exhibits because it does not emanate UV light, works were completed in August 2009. Unable to secure funding for the ambitious Beacon project, the proposal lapsed, six years later, on 3 October 2016 the Battle of Britain Hall at Hendon was permanently closed after being in existence for some 38 years. The collection has been dispersed and the Battle of Britain will be presented across both the London and Cosford sites as part of other themed exhibitions within the RAF Centenarys celebrations
RAF Museum
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Royal Air Force Museum London
RAF Museum
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CR 42 Falco at the Battle of Britain hall
RAF Museum
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The
Sopwith Camel in the 'Milestones of Flight' hall
RAF Museum
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Avro Lancaster R5868 in the Bomber Hall of the RAF Museum London
20.
Operation Crossbow (film)
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Operation Crossbow, later re-released as The Great Spy Mission, is a 1965 British spy thriller and Second World War film about Operation Crossbow. It was directed by Michael Anderson and written by Emeric Pressburger, under the pseudonym Richard Imrie, Derry Quinn and Ray Rigby from a story from Duilio Coletti and it was filmed at MGM-British Studios. The film is a fictionalised account of the real-life Operation Crossbow, made with a large cast of the times popular film stars. From 1943, Nazi Germany started working on weapons, the V-1 flying bomb. Technical problems with the V-1 lead the Germans to create a version to ascertain the flight problems of the rocket. Aviator Hanna Reitsch successfully flies and lands the V-1 prototype, discovering the problem and how to solve it, Winston Churchill is concerned about rumours of a German flying bomb and orders Duncan Sandys, his son-in-law, one of his ministers, to investigate. Sandys is convinced by intelligence and photo-reconnaissance reports that the weapons exist, bomber Command launches a raid on Peenemünde on 17/18 August 1943 to destroy the factory producing them. The Germans move their factory underground in Southern Germany for protection and rush ahead with the development and production of the larger, the head of British intelligence learns that engineers are actively being recruited across occupied Europe for the new weapon and decides to infiltrate the factory. He finds three qualified volunteers, one an American, all experienced engineers who speak fluent German and Dutch and they are hastily trained and sent to Germany via the Netherlands. Amongst the volunteers interviewed but not selected is a British officer named Bamford and he is arrested but agrees to becoming an engineer to act as an informer for the Germans. However, he is recognised by Bamford, who has returned to Germany as a security officer, refusing to reveal his mission, he is tortured by the Gestapo and then shot when he refuses to co-operate. A further complication occurs when Nora, the wife of the man whom USAAF Lieutenant John Curtis is impersonating, although innocent, the wife can compromise the mission. Curtis and Phil Bradley manage to infiltrate the underground factory, the controls are in the powerhouse, Bradley is killed by Bamford, but Curtis is able to shoot his way in. As the Germans frantically try to stop him, the fatally wounded Curtis opens the doors before he dies, the raid succeeds in obliterating the factory. Douglas Home, brother of Sir Alec Douglas-Home wrote a draft of the script. Sophia Loren and George Peppard were cast early on, to help the box office, Sophia Loren appears, courtesy of her husband and producer of the film Carlo Ponti, in a cameo role. Despite getting lead billing, she has only a modest role in the hotel sequence and she plays the Italian wife of engineer Erik van Ostamgen, a dead man whose identity has been appropriated by Curtis, Peppards character. He provides her with a document, but she is killed to maintain secrecy
Operation Crossbow (film)
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theatrical
film poster by
Frank McCarthy
21.
The Guns of Navarone (film)
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The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American epic adventure war film directed by J. Lee Thompson. The screenplay by producer Carl Foreman was based on Alistair MacLeans 1957 novel The Guns of Navarone, the film stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Stanley Baker, Irene Papas, Gia Scala, James Darren and Anthony Quayle. In 1943, the Axis powers plan an assault on the island of Leros — where 2,000 British soldiers are marooned — to bully neutral Turkey into joining them with a display of their military strength. Rescue by the Royal Navy is prevented by two massive radar-directed superguns on the island of Navarone. When aerial bombing efforts fail, Allied Intelligence gathers a team of commandos to infiltrate Navarone, disguised as Greek fishermen on a decrepit fishing vessel, they sail across the Aegean Sea, where they successfully kill the crew of a German patrol boat coming aboard to inspect them. Later in the voyage Mallory confides to Franklin that Stavrou had sworn to him after the war, because Mallory was inadvertently responsible for the deaths of Stavrous wife. The team shipwreck on Navarones coast during a storm, Mallory leads the climb up the cliff, but Franklin badly injures his leg, the injury later becomes infected with gangrene. They rendezvous with local fighters, Spyros sister Maria and her friend Anna, who was once captured and tortured by the Germans before escaping. The mission is continually dogged by German soldiers, and the group is captured in the town of Mandrakos by Oberleutnant Meusel while trying to find a doctor for Franklin. While being interrogated by SS Hauptsturmführer Sessler, Stavrou pretends to grovel as theyre being interrogated and they escape in German uniforms, but leave Franklin behind to receive medical attention. In due course, Franklin is injected with scopolamine and gives up Mallorys misinformation, as Mallory had hoped, Mallory reluctantly prepares to execute Anna as punishment, but Maria shoots her instead. The team splits up, Mallory and Miller go for the guns, Stavrou and Spyros create distractions in town, assisted by local residents, Maria. Spyros dies in a stand-off with a German officer, and Brown from being stabbed during the boat theft, meanwhile, Mallory and Miller infiltrate the gun emplacement, but set off an alarm when they seal the doors behind them. Mallory and Miller proceed further towards the battery, where Miller then plants explosives on the guns, the Germans eventually gain entry into the gun cave, but Mallory and Miller make their escape by diving into the sea, reaching the stolen boat. A wounded Stavrou is helped aboard by Mallory, thus voiding the blood feud between them, the Allied destroyers appear on schedule, but the Germans find the explosives planted on the guns and begin to fire on the passing Allied flotilla. The hoist eventually descends low enough to trigger the explosives, which sets off the surrounding shells into destroying the guns. Mallorys team safely reaches the British convoy, but Stavrou decides to return to Navarone with Maria, Mallory and Miller, returning home, observe the aftermath of their success from a destroyer. The film was part of a cycle of big-budget World War II adventures that included The Bridge on the River Kwai, The Longest Day, the screenplay, adapted by producer Carl Foreman, made significant changes from the novel The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean
The Guns of Navarone (film)
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film poster by
Howard Terpning
22.
No. 44 Squadron RAF
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No.44 Squadron was an aviation unit of the Royal Air Force. It was active between 1917 and 1982, for most of its history it served as a heavy bomber squadron. 44 Squadron was formed on 24 July 1917 as a Home Defence unit forming part of the London Air Defence Area, the squadron, based at Hainault Farm, Essex, pioneered the use of the Sopwith Camel in night fighter operations. By the end of the First World War it was commanded by Arthur Harris, disbanded in 1919, the squadron was reformed as a bomber squadron in March 1937 and equipped with Hawker Hinds. Moving to RAF Waddington later that year, it was equipped with Bristol Blenheims before changing to Handley Page Hampdens, during the war the squadron was subsequently based at RAF Dunholme Lodge, near Dunholme, then RAF Spilsby at Great Steeping in Lincolnshire. At the outbreak of the Second World War, as part of Bomber Harris No.5 Group and it was one of only two squadrons to operate continuously throughout the war. There were two commanders who held the Victoria Cross – Wing Commanders Roderick Learoyd and John Nettleton. The badge is based upon the seal of Lo Bengula, the chief of the Matabele on conquest, the seal shows an elephant which, in the case of this unit, is intended to indicate heavy attacks. Total sorties and losses for the war were, Handley Page Hampden –2,043 sorties Avro Lancaster –4,362 sorties The squadron suffered the third highest overall casualties of RAF Bomber Command. In July 1945 the squadron exchanged places with No.75 Squadron in RAF Mepal in Cambridgeshire to prepare for transfer to Tiger Force in the Far East for the war on Japan. After the war the squadron was re-equipped with Avro Lincolns, converting to the Boeing Washington, both types were equipped with various free-fall nuclear weapons. These may have included Blue Danube, US Mk 5 supplied under Project E, Red Beard, Yellow Sun Mk.1, the aircraft was then leveled off at about 10 miles or less from the target. In training this distance tended to creep until the aircraft would have been vulnerable to SAM, a new manoeuvre was developed by the research branch and the Bomber Command Development Unit. This required aircraft to home to a point at a distance from the target based on the mark of aircraft. In the case of 44 Sqn with the Mk 1a Vulcan, the aircraft would then be set in a climb at a specified angle of about 12 degrees for the Mk1a. As the aircraft passed 10,500 feet the bomb would be released and this was crude dead reckoning, and the Mk 1 crews realized that the ballistic computer in the NBC could calculate a much more accurate release point. The crews determined to use the automatic computing, occasionally in training the pull up was late and the release would occur at a much lower altitude. This risked either a failure or suicide from an early burst
No. 44 Squadron RAF
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No. 44 Sqn Avro Lancaster B.I in flight, 29 September 1942
No. 44 Squadron RAF
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A memorial plaque in All Saints Church, Great Steeping, to the members of 44 Squadron who flew from RAF Spilsby
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RAF Waddington
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The site is owned by the Ministry of Defence and managed by the RAF. The station badge depicts Lincoln Cathedral rising through the clouds, Squadrons operating during this time, No.82 Squadron RFC between 30 March 1917 and 17 November 1917 using the AW FK8 before moving to St Omer. No.97 Squadron RFC between 1 December 1917 and 21 January 1918 with no aircraft before moving to Stonehenge, No.105 Squadron RFC formed at the airfield on 23 September 1917 flying various aircraft and stayed until 3 October 1917 when it moved to Andover. No.117 Squadron RFC formed at Waddington on 1 January 1918 flying various aircraft, No.123 Squadron RFC formed at the airfield on 1 February 1918 and flew various aircraft before moving to Duxford on 1 March 1918. No.23 Squadron RAF between 15 March 1919 and 31 December 1919 with no aircraft before being disbanded, No.203 Squadron RAF between 27 March 1919 and December 1919 with no aircraft as a cadre before moving to Scopwick. No.204 Squadron RAF from 11 February 1919 as a cadre with no aircraft until 31 December 1919 when the squadron disbanded, as part of the pre-war expansion programme the Waddington site was earmarked for development into a fully equipped Bomber Station. Along the top of the Edge a series of airfields were developed, including RAF Waddington, RAF Cranwell and they lie within an open landscape, consisting of rectilinear fields and few boundaries. Waddington reopened as a base on 12 March 1937, with 50 Squadron arriving on the same day with their Hawker Hinds. 110 Squadron arrived 15 days later initially with the Hind before switching to the Bristol Blenheim I, on 7 June 193788 Squadron reformed at Waddington with the Hind before moving to RAF Boscombe Down on 17 July 1937. On 16 June 193744 Squadron moved in from RAF Andover flying the Blenheim I before switching to the Avro Anson I, in May 1939110 Sqn left going to RAF Wattisham and 50 Sqn left the following year being moved to RAF Lindholme. RAF Waddington began the war housing the Hampdens of 44 Sqn and 50 Sqn, both squadrons were in action on the same day as Britains war declaration, attacking German naval targets at Kiel. In November 1940 it was the first station to receive the Avro Manchester heavy bomber, No.44 Squadron RAF was the first in RAF Bomber Command to fly operationally with the Avro Lancaster on 2 March 1942 from Waddington. BT308, the first prototype Lancaster, arrived at Waddington in September 1941 for flight tests, similar to RAF Scampton, the station was part of 5 Group. 44 Sqn left on 31 May 1943 going to RAF Dunholme Lodge, Squadrons operating during this time,97 Sqn reformed here on 25 February 1941 with the Avro Manchester before moving to RAF Coningsby on 10 March 1941. 9 Sqn joined the airfield on 7 August 1942 initially with the Vickers Wellington III before switching to the Lancaster I, the squadron moved to RAF Bardney on 14 April 1943. 142 Sqn between 15 June 1940 and 3 July 1940 with the Fairey Battle before moving to RAF Binbrook,207 Sqn reformed at Waddington on 1 November 1940 with the Manchester adding the Hampden for a month in July 41. The squadron moved to RAF Bottesford on 17 November 1941420 Sqn RCAF formed here on 19 December 1941 with the Hampden before moving to RAF Skipton-on-Swale on 7 August 1942. 463 Sqn RAAF formed at the airfield on 25 November 1943 with the Lancaster Mks I,467 Sqn RAAF between 13 November 1943 and 15 June 1945 with the Lancaster Mks I and III
RAF Waddington
RAF Waddington
RAF Waddington
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Avro Lancaster of
463 Sqn RAAF in 1944
RAF Waddington
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Avro Vulcan Type 698 B2 Bomber XM607 which took part in
Operation Black Buck. Now preserved as the gate guardian at RAF Waddington.
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