1.
United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
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
3.
Fighter Command
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RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft and it served throughout the Second World War. It earned great fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Command continued until 17 November 1943, when it was disbanded and the RAF fighter force was split into two categories, defence and attack. The defensive force became Air Defence of Great Britain and the force became the RAF Second Tactical Air Force. Air Defence of Great Britain was later renamed Fighter Command and it was finally disbanded in 1968. On 20 May 1926, Fighter Commands precursor organisation was established as a group within Inland Area, on 1 June 1926, Fighting Area was transferred to the Air Defence of Great Britain. Fighting Area was raised to Command status in 1932 and renamed Fighter Command on 1 May 1936. Fighter Command was divided into a number of Groups, each controlling a different part of the UK.11 Group took the brunt of the German attack, as it controlled southeast England and London. It was reinforced by 10 Group, which covered southwest England,12 Group, in the end, the Germans failed to attain air superiority, although the RAF had been eating into its reserves during the battle, as had the Luftwaffe. As 1941 began, Fighter Command began the task of winning air superiority over North Western France from the Germans. Large numbers of Spitfires were sent out small groups of medium bombers in often vain attempts to lure the German fighters into combat. Most of the factors that had allowed Fighter Command to win the Battle of Britain were now reversed, for example, British pilots who were shot down in 1940 and survived would be patched up and sent back to their units as quickly as possible. In 1941, over France, a shot down pilot would, as likely as not, the year saw RAF Fighter Command claim some 711 Luftwaffe fighters shot down for losses of approximately 400 RAF fighters lost. As 1941 ended, the appearance of the new Fw 190, with its obvious technical superiority over the current Spitfire Mark V, parallel to the day offensive in 1941 was the ongoing night bomber attacks against the United Kingdom in January to May. By this time, until May 1941, the Luftwaffe effort was aimed against both civilian and industrial targets, Fighter Commands defences, however improved almost daily during the first six months of 1941. An increasing number of guns and searchlights were also radar-controlled. From the start of 1941, the Luftwaffes losses mounted, with the impending invasion of Russia requiring the movement of air power to the East, the Blitz ended in May 1941 with Fighter Command in complete control of the night sky over the UK. The difficult task of slowly grinding down the Germans continued into 1942 and 1943, squadrons also found themselves on tiring defensive patrols as small formations of FW-190s started to fly hit and run nuisance raids all along the South Coast
4.
Battle honour
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In European military tradition, military units may be acknowledged for their achievements in specific wars or operations of a military campaign. These honours usually take the form of a place and a date, theatre honours could be listed and displayed on regimental property but not emblazoned on the colours. Since battle honours are emblazoned on colours, artillery units. These honour titles were permitted to be used as part of their official nomenclature, similar honours in the same tenor include unit citations. Battle honours, theatre honours, honour titles and their ilk form a part of the variety of distinctions which serve to distinguish military units from each other. For the British Army, the need to adopt a system to recognise military units battlefield accomplishments was apparent since its formation as an army in the later part of the 17th century. Although the granting of battle honours had already been in place at the time, before then, a regiments colours were practical tools for rallying troops in the battlefield and not quite something for displaying the units past distinctions. The first battle honour to be awarded in the British Army was granted to the 15th Hussars for the Battle of Emsdorf in 1760, thereafter, other regiments received battle honours for some of their previous engagements. The battle honour is held by the successor regiment, the Princess of Waless Royal Regiment. During these early years of the British standing army, a regiment needed only to engage the enemy with musketry before it was eligible for a battle honour, thus in 1882, a committee was formed to adjudicate applications of battle honour claims. This committee, later called the Battles Nomenclature Committee, still maintains its function in the British Army today. A battle honour may be granted to infantry/cavalry regiments or battalions, as well as ships and squadrons, they are granted to sub-units such as companies. Battle honours are presented in the form of a name of a country, region, or city where the units distinguished act took place. Not every battle fought will automatically result in the granting of a battle honour, conversely, a regiment or a battalion might obtain more than one battle honour over the course of a larger operation. Similarly, while in Korea, Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry earned both Kapyong and Korea 1951–1953, supporting corps/branches such as medical, service, ordnance, or transport do not currently receive battle honours. However and uniquely the Royal Logistic Corps has five battle honours inherited from its previous transport elements, Commonwealth artillery does not maintain battle honours as they carry neither colours nor guidons—though their guns by tradition are afforded many of the same respects and courtesies. However, both the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers were in 1832 granted by King William IV the right to use the Latin Ubique, meaning everywhere and this is worn on the cap badge of both the Corps of Royal Engineers and the Royal Regiment of Artillery. The practice was extended to these same regiments and corps in the successor Commonwealth armed forces
5.
World War II
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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
6.
Reindeer
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This includes both sedentary and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare, for this reason, it is considered to be vulnerable by the IUCN. Reindeer vary considerably in colour and size, both sexes can grow antlers annually, although the proportion of females that grow antlers varies greatly between population and season. Antlers are typically larger on males, hunting of wild reindeer and herding of semi-domesticated reindeer are important to several Arctic and Subarctic peoples. In traditional festive legend, Santa Clauss reindeer pull a sleigh through the sky to help Santa Claus deliver gifts to children on Christmas Eve. The name Rangifer, which Carl Linnaeus chose for the genus, was used by Albertus Magnus in his De animalibus. This word may go back to a Saami word raingo, for the origin of the word tarandus, which Linnaeus chose as the specific epithet, he made reference to Ulisse Aldrovandis Quadrupedum omnium bisulcorum historia fol. However, Aldrovandi – and before him Konrad Gesner – thought that rangifer, in any case, the tarandos name goes back to Aristotle and Theophrastus – see In history below. Because of its importance to many cultures, Rangifer tarandus and some of its subspecies have names in many languages, the name rein is of Norse origin. The Finnish name poro may also stem from the same, the word deer was originally broader in meaning, but became more specific over time. In Middle English, der meant a wild animal of any kind. Cognates of Old English dēor in other dead Germanic languages have the sense of animal, such as Old High German tior, Old Norse djúr or dýr, Gothic dius, Old Saxon dier. The name caribou comes, through French, from Mikmaq qalipu, meaning snow shoveler, in Inuktitut, spoken in eastern Arctic North America, the caribou is known by the name tuktu. In the western North American Arctic, the used by the Iñupiat is tuttu. Across the range of a species, individuals may display considerable morphological, genetic, COSEWIC developed Designated Unit attribution to add to classifications already in use. The species taxonomic name Rangifer tarandus was defined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the subspecies taxonomic name, Rangifer tarandus caribou was defined by Gmelin in 1788. Based on Banfields often-cited A Revision of the Reindeer and Caribou, Genus Rangifer, R. t. caboti, R. t. osborni and R. t. terraenovae were considered invalid and included in R. t. caribou. Some recent authorities have considered them all valid, even suggesting that they are quite distinct and he affirms that true woodland caribou is very rare, in very great difficulties and requires the most urgent of attention
7.
World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
8.
RAF Colerne
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RAF Colerne, now known as Colerne Airfield or AEF Colerne, is a former Second World War RAF Fighter Command and Bomber Command airfield located on the outskirts of the village of Colerne, Wiltshire. BUAS recruits from several universities in the South-West and has been stationed at Colerne, alongside 3 Air Experience Flight and they fly the Air Training Corps cadets using the same aircraft as part of their flying experience they are entitled to during their time in the ATC. Originally there had been a farm called Doncombe and a Vine Yard on the site of the airfield, from 1940 to 1955 RAF Fighter Command units were based here. During the Battle of Britain the airfield served as a field to RAF Middle Wallop. Later it was a Training station for Night Fighter navigators, using the latest night fighter procedures, the unit involved was No.238 Operational Conversion Unit and Bristol Brigand twin engine aircraft was used for this purpose. Both the Pilot and Trainee sat side by side in the wide fuselage, between 4 May 1948 and 1 March 1962 No.49 Maintenance Unit RAF was based at the airfield. After this period it became a Transport Command airfield, and Hastings aircraft were flown from RAF Colerne, after the demise of the Hastings and the delivery of the new Lockheed C-130 Hercules being introduced to the RAF Air Support Command, the front line transport role was relinquished. The Hercules were based at RAF Lyneham and for many years major servicing of the Hercules was carried out at RAF Colerne by the Air Engineering Squadron until the station closed in 1976, xV198 crashed, killing all crew on board here in September 1973. Colerne was also the home of 2 Field Squadron RAF Regiment from 1962 -1975. No.19 Squadron RAF, No.24 Squadron RAF, No.29 Squadron RAF, No.36 Squadron RAF, No.74 Squadron RAF, No.87 Squadron RAF, No.89 Squadron RAF. No.219 Squadron RAF, No.245 Squadron RAF, No.256 Squadron RAF, No.263 Squadron RAF, No.264 Squadron RAF, No.285 Squadron RAF, No.286 Squadron RAF. No.307 Squadron RAF, No.316 Squadron RAF, No.402 Squadron RAF, No.406 Squadron RAF, No.410 Squadron RAF, No.417 Squadron RAF, No.456 Squadron RAF, No.488 Squadron RAF. No.501 Squadron RAF, No.504 Squadron RAF, No.511 Squadron RAF, No.600 Squadron RAF, No.604 Squadron RAF, No.616 Squadron RAF, No.662 Squadron RAF. Used by the British Army as its facility for the Junior Leaders Regiment of the Royal Corps of Transport. Young men from the age of 16 were trained in a variety of the skills needed to enable them to become soldiers in the Army. Basic driver training was done on simulators, car driver training to licence level, the Regiment consisted of, -30 Squadron RCT,57 Squadron RCT and 90 Squadron RCT. Estranged from the regiment at Driffield in Yorkshire was 32 Driver Training Squadron RCT, BUAS recruits from several universities in the South-West and has been stationed at Colerne, alongside 3 Air Experience Flight, for many years. They fly the Air Training Corps cadets using the aircraft as part of their flying experience they are entitled to during their time in the ATC
9.
Bolton-Paul Defiant
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The Boulton Paul Defiant was a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a turret fighter and it was a contemporary of the Royal Navys Blackburn Roc. The concept of a turret fighter related directly to the successful First World War-era Bristol F.2 Fighter, the lack of forward-firing armament proved to be a great weakness in daylight combat and its potential was realised only when it was converted to night fighting. It was supplanted in the fighter role by the Bristol Beaufighter. The Defiant found use in training, target towing, electronic countermeasures. Among RAF pilots it had the nickname Daffy, during the 1930s, the increasing speed of military aircraft posed a particular challenge to anti-aircraft defences. In theory, turret-armed fighters would approach an enemy bomber from below or from the side, the separation of the tasks of flying the aircraft and firing the guns would allow the pilot to concentrate on putting the fighter into the best position for the gunner to engage the enemy. In April 1935, the Air Ministry released Specification F. 9/35, the proposed fighter was broadly similar in both size and appearance to the more conventional Hawker Hurricane, differing in weight primarily due to the use of turret-based armaments. The central feature of the P, the Type A turret was an electro-hydraulically powered drop-in unit, outfitted with a crank-operated mechanical backup. In addition, small bombs could be housed in recesses within the outer wing, some of the development work from the companys earlier B. 1/35 tender was carried over into the P.82. Of the seven designs tendered, the Air Ministry ranked the P.82 as being the second-best submission, after Hawkers Hotspur but ahead of others such as Armstrong Whitworths twin-engined design. The Treasury agreed to finance the completion of seven prototypes, however, in 1937, the first P.82 prototype, K8310, was rolled out. On 11 August 1937, K8310, which had received the name Defiant. This initial flight, piloted by Boulton Pauls chief test pilot Cecil Feather, occurred nearly a year ahead of the rival Hotspur, official acceptance trials did not commence until nine months later. On 30 July 1939, the prototype, K8620, equipped with a Merlin II engine. Production orders had been prepared for the Hotspur, the initial front-running submission, however, the order for the rival Hotspur was cancelled in 1938. Completing its acceptance tests with the turret installed, the Defiant attained a top speed of 302 miles per hour, Flight trials had revealed the aircraft to possess positive flight characteristics and considerable stability, which was of particular value when using the turret. On 30 July 1939, the first production Defiant, L6950, conducted its maiden flight, it commenced official trials with the Aeroplane, apart from some detail changes, the production Defiant Mk I looked similar to the two Defiant prototypes
10.
RAF Fairwood Common
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Royal Air Force Fairwood Common or more simply RAF Fairwood Common is a former Royal Air Force station located at Fairwood Common on the Gower Peninsula to the west of Swansea. It is now the location of Swansea Airport, RAF Fairwood Common was built on what was originally common land during the Second World War. The aerodrome was declared operational on 15 June 1941 after taking nearly a year to develop, built as a day and night fighter station elements of the first day fighter squadron arrived on 14 June 1941. On 17 June 1941 the first night fighter squadron arrived and by the end of June 1941 a second Hurricane equipped day fighter squadron arrived. On 20 March the ship moved to the Firth of Clyde and then, filled with Army and RAF personnel, the aerodrome fulfilled a variety of military roles during the Second World War, following which it was decommissioned by the RAF in 1949. During the period 15 June 1941 to 31 March 1947 over 66 squadrons/flights operated from the aerodrome. Renamed Fairwood Common, the became the home of Swansea and District Flying Club and School and they hosted a number of air shows, air races. In 1957 the County Borough of Swansea took over the aerodrome and on 1 June 1957 Swansea Airport was officially opened by Group Captain Douglas R S Bader, CBE, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar. The airport was developed for usage by Cambrian Airways Ltd on behalf of the local council. List of former Royal Air Force stations Jones, I, Airfields and Landing Grounds of Wales, West. Hunt, L. Twenty-one Squadrons, History of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, arthur, N. Swansea at War - A Pictorial Account 1939–1945. Arthur, N. Swansea since 1900 - Ninety Years of Photographs, the Military Airfields of Britain - Wales and the West Midlands
11.
Bristol Beaufighter
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The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter is a multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in the United Kingdom. It was originally conceived as a fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort bomber. In later operations, it served mainly as a maritime strike/ground attack aircraft, the Royal Australian Air Force also heavily used the type in the maritime anti-shipping role, such as during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea. In addition, variants of the Beaufighter were also manufactured in Australia by the Department of Aircraft Production, the concept of the Beaufighter has its origins in 1938. Accordingly, Bristols design team, led by L. G, frise, commenced the development of a cannon-armed fighter derivative as a private venture. A key goal for the aircraft was to share the same jigs as the in-production Beaufort so that manufacturing could be switched from one aircraft to the other at short notice. As a torpedo bomber and aerial reconnaissance aircraft, the Beaufort had moderate performance, the Hercules was a considerably larger and more powerful engine, which required larger propellers. To obtain the necessary ground clearance, the engines were mounted centrally on the wing, in October 1938, the project, which received the internal designation Type 156, was outlined. In March 1939, the Type 156 was given the name Beaufighter, Bristol proceeded to suggest their concept for a fighter development of the Beaufort to the Air Ministry. The timing of the suggestion happened to coincide with delays in the development, while there was some scepticism that the aircraft was unnecessarily large for the fighter role, the proposal was given an overall warm reception by the Air Staff. Accordingly, the Air Ministry produced draft Specification F. 11/37 written around Bristols suggestion for an interim aircraft, on 16 November 1938, Bristol received formal authorisation to commence the detailed design phase of the project and to proceed with the construction of four prototypes. Bristol began building a prototype by taking a partly built Beaufort out of the production line. This conversion served to speed progress, Bristol had promised series production in early 1940 on the basis of an order being placed in February 1939. Designers expected that maximum re-use of Beaufort components would speed the process, perhaps in anticipation of this, the Air Ministry had requested that Bristol investigate the prospects of a slim fuselage configuration. Since the Beaufort cannon fighter was a conversion of a design, development. Within six months of the first F. 11/37 prototype, designated R2052, had been completed, on 17 July 1939, R2052, the first prototype, conducted its maiden flight, a little more than eight months after development had formally started. In its initial configuration, R2052 was unarmed, the rapid pace of development achieved is partially attributable due to the re-use of many elements of the Beauforts design along with frequently identical components. R2052 proceeded to be operated by Bristol for testing purposes while it was based at Filton Aerodrome
12.
Hawker Hurricane
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The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–1940s that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force. In late 1934, the Air Ministry placed an order for Hawkers Interceptor Monoplane, on 6 November 1935, the prototype Hurricane, K5083, performed its maiden flight. In June 1936, the Hurricane was ordered into production by the Air Ministry, the Hurricane was rapidly procured prior to the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, by which point, the RAF operated a total of 18 Hurricane-equipped squadrons. It is perhaps best known for its contribution to Britains home defences during the Battle of Britain, the Hurricane evolved through several versions and adaptations, resulting in a series of aircraft which acted as fighters, bomber-interceptors, fighter-bombers and ground support aircraft. By the end of production in 1944, in excess of 14,583 Hurricanes had been completed, at the time, there was an institutional reluctance towards change within the Air Staff, according to aviation author Francis K. In 1934, the British Air Ministry issued Specification F. 7/30 in response to demands within the Royal Air Force for a new generation of fighter aircraft. Earlier, during 1933, British aircraft designer Sydney Camm had conducted discussions with Major John Buchanan of the Directorate of Technical Development on a monoplane based on the existing Fury. Camms initial submission in response to F. 7/30, the Hawker P. V.3, was essentially a version of the Fury biplane. However, the P. V.3 was not among the proposals which the Air Ministry had selected to be constructed as a government-sponsored prototype, after the rejection of the P. V. By January 1934, the detail drawings had been finished. In August 1934, a scale model of the design was produced and dispatched to the National Physical Laboratory at Teddington. A series of wind tunnel tests confirmed the aerodynamic qualities of the aircraft were in order and this time, the Ministrys response was favourable, and a prototype of the Interceptor Monoplane was promptly ordered. In November 1934, the Air Ministry issued Specification F. 5/34 which, drawing on the work of Squadron Leader Ralph Sorley, however, by this time, work had progressed too far to immediately modify the planned four-gun installation. In July 1935, this specification was amended to include installation of eight guns, ground testing and taxi trials took place over the following two weeks. On 6 November 1935, the prototype K5083 took to the air for the first time at the hands of Hawkers chief test pilot, Flight Lieutenant George Bulman. Bulman was assisted by two pilots in subsequent flight testing, Philip Lucas flew some of the experimental test flights. As completed, the prototype had been fitted with ballast to represent the aircrafts armament prior to the acceptance of the final multi-gun wing armament. In early 1936, the prototype was transferred to RAF Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, in the course of further testing, it was found that the Hurricane had poor spin recovery characteristics, in which all rudder authority could be lost due to shielding of the rudder
13.
Newfoundland and Labrador
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Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province of Canada. Situated in the countrys Atlantic region, it comprises the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador to the northwest, in 2013, the provinces population was estimated at 526,702. About 92% of the population lives on the island of Newfoundland. The province is Canadas most linguistically homogeneous, with 97. 6% of residents reporting English as their mother tongue in the 2006 census, historically, Newfoundland was also home to unique varieties of French and Irish, as well as the extinct Beothuk language. In Labrador, local dialects of Innu-aimun and Inuktitut are also spoken, Newfoundland and Labradors capital and largest city, St. Johns, is Canadas 20th-largest census metropolitan area and is home to almost 40 percent of the provinces population. St. Johns is the seat of government, home to the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador and to the highest court in the jurisdiction and it became the tenth province to enter the Canadian Confederation on March 31,1949, as Newfoundland. On December 6,2001, an amendment was made to the Constitution of Canada to change the official name to Newfoundland. The name Newfoundland is a translation of the Portuguese Terra Nova, the influence of early Portuguese exploration is also reflected in the name of Labrador, which derives from the surname of the Portuguese navigator João Fernandes Lavrador. Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province in Canada, and is located at the corner of North America. The Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two divisions, Labrador, which is a large area of mainland Canada, and Newfoundland. The province also includes over 7,000 tiny islands, each side is about 400 km long, and its area is 108,860 km2. Newfoundland and its small islands have a total area of 111,390 km2. Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36′N and 51°38′N, Labrador is an irregular shape, the western part of its border with Quebec is the drainage divide of the Labrador Peninsula. Lands drained by rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean are part of Labrador, most of Labradors southern boundary with Quebec follows the 52nd parallel of latitude. Labradors extreme northern tip, at 60°22′N, shares a border with Nunavut. Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4. 06% of Canadas area, Labrador is the easternmost part of the Canadian Shield, a vast area of ancient metamorphic rock comprising much of northeastern North America. Colliding tectonic plates have shaped much of the geology of Newfoundland, gros Morne National Park has a reputation as an outstanding example of tectonics at work, and as such has been designated a World Heritage Site. The Long Range Mountains on Newfoundlands west coast are the northeasternmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains, the north-south extent of the province, prevalent westerly winds, cold ocean currents and local factors such as mountains and coastline combine to create the various climates of the province
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St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
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St. Johns is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is on the tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. St. Johns covers 446.04 square kilometres and is North Americas most easterly city, excluding those of Greenland. Its name has been attributed to the Nativity of John the Baptist, existing on maps as early as 1519, it is considered by some to be the oldest English-founded city in North America. It was officially incorporated as a city in 1888, the city has a rich history, having played a role in the Seven Years War, the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812. Italian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless signal in St. Johns and its history and culture have made it one of the worlds top ocean-side tourist destinations. St. Johns is one of North Americas oldest settlements, with setting up seasonal camps in the early 16th century. Sebastian Cabot declares in a handwritten Latin text in his original 1545 map, that St. However, the earliest record of the location appears as São João on a Portuguese map by Pedro Reinel in 1519. When John Rut visited St. Johns in 1527 he found Norman, Breton, on 3 August 1527, Rut wrote a letter to King Henry on the findings of his voyage to North America, this was the first known letter sent from North America. St. Jehan is shown on Nicholas Desliens world map of 1541 and it was during this time that Water Street was first developed, making it the oldest street in North America. On 5 August 1583, an English Sea Dog, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed the area as Englands first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. There was no permanent population, however, and Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voyage, the Newfoundland National War Memorial is on the waterfront in St. Johns, at the purported site of Gilberts landing and proclamation. By 1620, the fishermen of Englands West Country controlled most of Newfoundlands east coast, in 1627, William Payne, called St. Johns the principal prime and chief lot in all the whole country. Sometime after 1630, the town of St. Johns was established as a permanent community, before this they were expressly forbidden by the British government, at the urging of the West Country fishing industry, from establishing permanent settlements along the English controlled coast. The population grew slowly in the 17th century, St. Johns was Newfoundlands largest settlement when English naval officers began to take censuses around 1675, the population grew in the summers with the arrival of migratory fishermen. In 1680, fishing ships set up fishing rooms at St. Johns, the towns first significant defenses were likely erected due to commercial interests, following the temporary seizure of St. Johns by the Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter in June 1665. The inhabitants fended off a second Dutch attack in 1673, when it was defended by Christopher Martin, Martin landed six cannons from his vessel, the Elias Andrews, and constructed an earthen breastwork and battery near Chain Rock commanding the Narrows leading into the harbour. With only 23 men, the valiant Martin beat off an attack by three Dutch warships, when 1500 English reinforcements arrived in late 1697, they found rubble where the town and fortifications had stood
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Corner Brook
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For the submarine, see HMCS Corner Brook. Corner Brook is a city located on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland in Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the Bay of Islands at the mouth of the Humber River, the city is the largest population centre in the province after St. Johns. As such, Corner Brook functions as a centre for western and northern Newfoundland. It is located on the latitude as Gaspé, Quebec. Corner Brook is the most northern city in Atlantic Canada and it is the administrative headquarters of the Qalipu Mikmaq First Nations band government. The Mikmaq name for the nearby Humber River is Maqtukwek, the area was surveyed by Captain James Cook in 1767. The Captain James Cook Historic Site stands on Crow Hill overlooking the city, by the middle of the 19th century the population of Corner Brook was less than 100, and the inhabitants were engaged in fishing and lumber work. In 1956, these four communities were amalgamated to form the present-day City of Corner Brook, Corner Brook is home to the Corner Brook Pulp & Paper Mill, which is a major employer for the region. The city has the largest regional hospital in western Newfoundland and it also has a wide array of shopping and retail businesses and federal and provincial government offices. It is also home to Grenfell Campus, Memorial University, as well as campuses of Academy Canada, Corner Brook is also home to the provinces newest high school, Corner Brook Regional High, which is an amalgamation of the former Regina and Herdman Collegiate high schools. Corner Brook is home to Marble Mountain Ski Resort, a skiing resort, and Blow-Me-Down trails. The Corner Brook Royals currently play in the West Coast Senior Hockey League and were the winners of the 1986 National Title, the Royals play their home games at the Corner Brook Civic Centre, formerly the Canada Games Centre. The arena was built in 1997 and was one of the venues used when the city of Corner Brook hosted the 1999 Canada Games. Corner Brook was host of the 2011 Special Olympics Provincial Winter Games from February 18–20, the city also twice hosted Raid the North Extreme, a televised 6-day multi-sport expedition race held in wilderness locations across Canada, and was a leg of the ITU World Cup Triathlon. Corner Brook is home to Grenfell Campus, Memorial University where a strong, Corner Brook Arts and Culture Centre among other institutions thrive in promoting the arts on all levels from visual arts to theatre and well beyond. Corner Brook is home to Stage West Theatre Festival, a theatre festival running through the month of July, and Gros Morne Summer Music. The March Hare literary festival occurs every March and celebrates poetry and written works from around the world, featuring poets from around Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and the world. Atlantic Canadas largest poetry festival was founded in the late 1980s by poet and playwright Al Pittman, in April, the April Rabbit showcases new and young writers
16.
Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador
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Deer Lake is a town in the western part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town derives its name from Deer Lake and is situated at the outlet of the upper Humber River at the end of the lake. The first settlers in the area arrived from Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia in 1864, originally loggers and trappers, the settlers later took up farming. In 1922, a camp was set up to support the International Pulp. The camp would become the town of Deer Lake. A formal townsite was constructed in 1925 and included a terminal, churches. The town was incorporated in 1950, the airport was built in 1955 and is one of the towns major employers. In 2004, Deer Lake Regional Airport began plans to redesign the airport terminal, the primary population that the airport serves is approximately 55,000. The effect was from Rocky Harbour to Corner Brook and around Deer Lake, the town is located in Division No.5 and is the gateway to the Great Northern Peninsula, owing to an important highway interchange on the Trans-Canada Highway. It is the closest major community to Gros Morne National Park and is home to the Deer Lake Regional Airport, a hydroelectric plant was established on the Humber River in 1925 to provide electricity to a pulp and paper paper mill in Corner Brook. Deer Lake offers accommodation for tourists as well as restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores, there is a stadium and a swimming pool in Hodder Memorial Recreational Complex. St. Pauls United Church, a church dating from 1955. The Main Street offers a view of the lake. With precipitation high year-round, Deer Lake receives plenty of snowfall in winters, the community is served by Deer Lake Regional Airport, which is the nearest airport to Corner Brook and the most busy in the western part of the island
17.
Buchans
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Buchans is a town located in the central part of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on the northwest shore of Red Indian Lake on the Buchans River, the town is located within the statistical unit of Census Division No. 6, approximately 72 kilometres southwest of the Trans-Canada Highway at the terminus of Route 370, according to Statistics Canada, it had a population of 696 in 2011, with 351 private dwellings. Its current mayor is Derm Corbett, mattie Mitchell, a prospector and guide of Mikmaq and Montagnais ancestry employed by AND is credited with the original discovery of zinc-lead-copper ore on the banks of the Buchans River. Most accounts state that he made his discovery early in the summer of 1905, unfortunately, no milling process at the time could adequately separate the complex mixture of copper, lead and zinc sulphides. AND co did try to mine this site seasonally from 1906 until 1911, in 1916, the American Smelting and Refining Company learned of the Buchans River ore deposit and obtained samples for metallurgical testing. It wasnt until 1925 that a method for separating the various metals in Buchans ore was finally perfected by Asarco. Asarco leased the rights to the Buchans River Mine, In return. In the spring of 1926, Asarco began prospecting for additional orebodies on the land, led by Asarco engineer J. Ward Williams. This prospecting led to the discoveries that would ensure a long and prosperous mining operation at Buchans, in fact, Old Buchans as that mine was called, only produced a small percentage of the ore at Buchans -217,135 tons. It was mined from 1943 to 1956 and again in 1977 and 1978, besides Old Buchans, four major mines operated at different times between 1927 and 1984 - Lucky Strike Mine, Oriental, Rothermere, and MacLeans. Lucky Strike Lucky Strike orebody, named because it was discovered after a change of plans in exploration, was discovered on July 14,1926. This mine, with its iconic 100 ft headframe overlooking the town, would produce ore from 1928 to 1958, in that time,6,253,660 tons of ore were produced at Lucky Strike. Lucky strike mine shaft extends 714 ft underground, Oriental Oriental orebody, named due to its location east of Buchans River, was discovered on August 7,1926. It would go on to produce ore as a mine from 1935 to 1969 and again briefly from surface/pit sources from 1980 to 1981. 3,372,224 Tons of ore were produced over the life of Oriental mine, Rothermere Rothermere was discovered near the end of 1947. It was named after Lord Rothermere, whose family founded the AND company, the Rothermere mine shaft was 2,505 feet deep. The mine operated from 1950 to 1978 and it produced a total of 3,508,226 tons of ore
18.
RAF Valley
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Royal Air Force Valley or more simply RAF Valley is a Royal Air Force station on the island of Anglesey, Wales, and which is also used as Anglesey Airport. It provides fast-jet training using the BAE Systems Hawk and provides training for aircrew working with search, initial detachments were made by Hawker Hurricanes of 312 and 615 Squadrons. A detachment of Bristol Beaufighters of 219 Squadron provided night fighter cover, No.456 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force formed at Valley on 30 June 1941 and became operational on 5 September flying Boulton Paul Defiants. By November the squadron had completely re-equipped with Beaufighter IIs, and these provided defensive night patrols over the Irish Sea until March 1943, the runways and taxiways were extended in early 1943 and on 19 June 1943 the United States Army Air Forces Ferry Terminal became operational. This handled American aircraft arriving from transatlantic flights and on European sorties, eleven Liberators of the United States Navy arrived from Iceland on 17 August. During the winter of 1943/1944, the route was switched to a southerly route via the Azores and Marrakesh. One of Valleys busiest days was on 17 September 1944 when 99 USAAF Boeing B-17s and Liberators were ferried in from Iceland. RAF Valleys USAAF ferry role was reversed as soon as the European War ended and over 2,600 bombers passed through on their way back to the US for re-deployment, each carrying 20 passengers and crew. The USAAF Movement Section closed in September 1945, and in June 1947 the airfield was put on a care and maintenance basis. Vampire FB.5 and T.11 and Meteor T.7 marks were used until the unit was re-designated No.7 Flying Training School on 1 June 1954. On 15 August 1960 the unit was renumbered No.4 Flying Training School RAF which is based at the airfield. The first Folland Gnat jet trainers were received on 7 November 1962 and these were supplemented by Hawker Hunters for advanced training, marks F.6 and T.7 being used. 4 FTS presently consists of a squadron,4 Squadron flying the modern Hawk T2 and providing all RAF. The second squadron,208 Squadron, provided legacy Hawk T1 advanced flying training, RAF Valley previously hosted the Headquarters and C Flight of 22 Squadron, part of the RAFs Search and Rescue Force. The RAF Operational Conversion Unit,203 Squadron, was based at Valley to train new aircrew onto the Westland Sea King HAR. 3/3A. The base is home to SARTU, part of the Defence Helicopter Flying School, using AW139 and Griffin helicopters RAF Mona, also on Anglesey. HRH The Duke of Cambridge, second-in-line to the British Throne, was assigned to C Flight,22 Squadron at RAF Valley, as a pilot flying the Sea King search and he finished his last shift as a pilot on Tuesday 10 September 2013. A terminal facility, costing £1,500,000, was constructed at RAF Valley, named Anglesey Airport, the first public flight took place on 8 May 2007
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Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
20.
Irish Sea
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The Irish Sea, separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St Georges Channel, anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man. The sea is occasionally, but rarely, referred to as the Manx Sea, the sea is of significant economic importance to regional trade, shipping and transport, fishing, and power generation in the form of wind power and nuclear power plants. Annual traffic between Great Britain and Ireland amounts to over 12 million passengers and 17 million tonnes of traded goods, the Irish Sea has undergone a series of dramatic changes over the last 20,000 years as the last glacial period ended and was replaced by warmer conditions. At the height of the glaciation the central part of the sea was probably a long freshwater lake. As the ice retreated 10,000 years ago the lake reconnected to the sea, becoming brackish, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Irish Sea as follows, On the North. The Southern limit of the Scottish Seas, a line joining St. Davids Head to Carnsore Point. It is connected to the North Atlantic at both its northern and southern ends, to the north, the connection is through the North Channel between Scotland and Northern Ireland and the Malin Sea. The southern end is linked to the Atlantic through the St Georges Channel between south eastern Ireland and Pembrokeshire in Wales, and the Celtic Sea. The Irish Sea is composed of a channel about 300 km long and 30–50 km wide on its western side. The western channels depth ranges from 80 metres up to 275 m in the Beauforts Dyke in the North Channel, the main embayments – Cardigan Bay in the south and the waters to the east of the Isle of Man – are less than 50 m deep. The Sea has a water volume of 2,430 km3, 80% of which is to the west of the Isle of Man. The largest sandbanks are the Bahama and King William Banks to the east and north of the Isle of Man, the Irish Sea, at its greatest width, is 200 km and narrows to 75 km. Unlike Great Britain, Ireland has no tunnel or bridge connection to continental Europe, thus the vast majority of heavy goods trade is done by sea. The Port of Liverpool handles 32 million tonnes of cargo and 734 thousand passengers a year, Holyhead port handles most of the passenger traffic from Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ports, as well as 3.3 million tonnes of freight. Ports in the Republic handle 3,600,000 travellers crossing the sea each year and this has been steadily dropping for a number of years, probably as a result of low cost airlines. There is also a connection between Liverpool and Belfast via the Isle of Man or direct from Birkenhead, the worlds largest car ferry, Ulysses, is operated by Irish Ferries on the Dublin Port–Holyhead route, Stena Line also operates between Britain and Ireland. The Port of Barrow-in-Furness, despite being one of Britains largest shipbuilding centres, a ferry crossing used to run between Swansea and Cork, but given the geographical limits defined above, this route crosses the Celtic Sea rather than the Irish Sea
21.
De Havilland Mosquito
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The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British multi-role combat aircraft with a two-man crew which served during and after the Second World War. It was one of few operational front-line aircraft of the era constructed almost entirely of wood and was nicknamed The Wooden Wonder, the Mosquito was also known affectionately as the Mossie to its crews. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation as a fast transport to carry small high-value cargoes to, a single passenger could be carried in the aircrafts bomb bay, which would be adapted for the purpose. When production of the Mosquito began in 1941, it was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world, entering widespread service in 1942, the Mosquito was a high-speed, high-altitude photo-reconnaissance aircraft, continuing in this role throughout the war. From mid-1942 to mid-1943, Mosquito bombers flew high-speed, medium or low-altitude missions against factories, railways and other pinpoint targets in Germany, from late 1943, Mosquito bombers were formed into the Light Night Strike Force and used as pathfinders for RAF Bomber Commands heavy-bomber raids. They were also used as bombers, often dropping Blockbuster bombs –4,000 lb cookies – in high-altitude. As a night fighter from mid-1942, the Mosquito intercepted Luftwaffe raids on the United Kingdom, starting in July 1942, Mosquito night-fighter units raided Luftwaffe airfields. As part of 100 Group, it was a fighter and intruder supporting RAF Bomber Commands heavy bombers that reduced bomber losses during 1944 and 1945. Second Tactical Air Force Mosquitos supported the British Army during the 1944 Normandy Campaign, from 1943, Mosquitos with RAF Coastal Command strike squadrons attacked Kriegsmarine U-boats and intercepted transport ship concentrations. The Mosquito flew with the Royal Air Force and other air forces in the European, Mediterranean and Italian theatres. The Mosquito was also operated by the RAF in the South East Asian theatre, during the 1950s, the RAF replaced the Mosquito with the jet-powered English Electric Canberra. By the early-mid-1930s, de Havilland had a reputation for innovative high-speed aircraft with the DH.88 Comet racer, the later DH.91 Albatross airliner pioneered the composite wood construction that the Mosquito used. The 22-passenger Albatross could cruise at 210 miles per hour at 11,000 feet,100 miles per hour better than the Handley Page H. P.42, on 8 September 1936, the British Air Ministry issued Specification P. Aviation firms entered heavy designs with new high-powered engines and multiple turrets, leading to the production of the Avro Manchester. In May 1937, as a comparison to P. 13/36, George Volkert, in 20 pages, Volkert planned an aerodynamically clean medium bomber to carry 3,000 pounds of bombs at a cruising speed of 300 miles per hour. There was support in the RAF and Air Ministry, Captain R N Liptrot, Research Director Aircraft 3, appraised Volkerts design, there were, however, counter-arguments that, although such a design had merit, it would not necessarily be faster than enemy fighters for long. The idea of a small, fast bomber gained support at an earlier stage than sometimes acknowledged though it was likely that the Air Ministry envisaged it using light alloy components. Geoffrey de Havilland also believed a bomber with an aerodynamic design and he thought that adapting the Albatross to meet the RAFs requirements could save time
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RAF Hurn
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RAF Hurn is a former World War II airfield in Dorset, England. The airfield is located approximately 4 miles north east of Christchurch, about 90 miles southwest of London Opened in 1941, during the war it was used primarily as a transport and fighter airfield. Since 1969, it has been called Bournemouth Airport, although some refer to it as Hurn. Hurn was known as USAAF Station AAF-492 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war and its USAAF Station Code was KU. The detachment commenced operational flying on 3 July only to return to Scorton a week later, on 5 August the 397th Bombardment Group arrived from RAF Rivenhall, equipped with Martin B-26 Marauders. It moved the Advanced Landing Ground at Gorges, France, on 19 August The airfield was closed by the RAF in October 1944 and turned over for civil use. List of former Royal Air Force stations This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, Freeman, Roger A. UK Airfields of the Ninth, Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-80-0 Freeman, Roger A, the Ninth Air Force in Colour, UK and the Continent-World War Two. After the Battle ISBN 1-85409-272-3 Maurer, Maurer, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History
23.
Operation Overlord
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Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings, a 1, 200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, the decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. The coast of Normandy was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at sectors codenamed Utah and Omaha, the British at Sword and Gold, and the Canadians at Juno. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a military deception, Operation Bodyguard. This misled the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings, Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in charge of developing fortifications all along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an invasion. A failed counterattack by German forces on 8 August left 50,000 soldiers of the 7th Army trapped in the Falaise pocket, the Allies launched an invasion of southern France on 15 August, and the Liberation of Paris followed on 25 August. German forces retreated across the Seine on 30 August 1944, marking the close of Operation Overlord, in June 1940, Germanys leader Adolf Hitler had triumphed in what he called the most famous victory in history—the fall of France. The defending British Expeditionary Force, trapped along the northern coast of France, was able to evacuate over 338,000 troops to England in the Dunkirk evacuation. After the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin began pressing for the creation of a front in Western Europe. Two tentative plans code-named Operation Roundup and Operation Sledgehammer were put forward for 1942–43, instead, the Allies launched the invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and invaded Italy in September. These operations provided the troops with valuable experience in amphibious warfare, the decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion within the next year was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. Churchill favoured making the main Allied thrust into Germany from the Mediterranean theatre, but was over-ruled by his American allies, British Lieutenant-General Frederick E. Morgan was appointed Chief of Staff, Supreme Allied Commander, to begin detailed planning. The initial plans were constrained by the number of landing craft, most of which were already committed in the Mediterranean. In part because of lessons learned in the Dieppe Raid of 19 August 1942, the failure at Dieppe also highlighted the need for adequate artillery and air support, particularly close air support, and specialised ships able to travel extremely close to shore. Morgan considered four sites for the landings, Brittany, the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy, as Brittany and Cotentin are peninsulas, it would have been possible for the Germans to cut off the Allied advance at a relatively narrow isthmus, so these sites were rejected. The Pas de Calais is the closest point in continental Europe to Britain and was the location of sites for V-1 and V-2 rockets. The Germans considered it to be the most likely initial landing zone, Normandy was hence chosen as the landing site
24.
Normandy
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Normandy is one of the regions of France, roughly corresponding to the historical Duchy of Normandy. Administratively, Normandy is divided into five departments, Calvados, Eure, Manche, Orne and it covers 30,627 km², forming roughly 5% of the territory of France. Its population of 3.37 million accounts for around 5% of the population of France, Normans is the name given to the inhabitants of Normandy, and the region is the homeland of the Norman language. The historical region of Normandy comprised the region of Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the départements, or departments of Mayenne. For a century and a following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman. Archaeological finds, such as paintings, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Celts invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th to the 3rd century BC, when Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, there were nine different Celtic tribes living in Normandy. The Romanisation of Normandy was achieved by the methods, Roman roads. Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy, in the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates, Christianity also began to enter the area during this period. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast, the Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy. As early as 487, the area between the River Somme and the River Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis, the Vikings started to raid the Seine Valley during the middle of the 9th century. As early as 841, a Viking fleet appeared at the mouth of the Seine, after attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at Jumièges, they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagnes empire to take northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Norwegian Viking leader Hrólfr Ragnvaldsson, Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks, Charles the Simple, through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory which he, the name Normandy reflects Rollos Viking origins. The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romance language and they became the Normans – a Norman-speaking mixture of Saxons and indigenous Franks and Celts. Besides the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent conquests of Wales and Ireland, Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville, Rainulf Drengot and Guimond de Moulins played important parts in the Norman conquest of southern Italy and Crusades. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the Crusader states of Asia Minor, the 14th century Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt established a kingdom in the Canary Islands
25.
Operation Steinbock
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Operation Steinbock was a Second World War Luftwaffe strategic bombing campaign against southern England that took place from January to May 1944. It was the last strategic air offensive by the German bomber arm during the conflict, in late 1943 the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive was gathering momentum against Germany. RAF Bomber Command under the leadership of Arthur Harris and the American United States Army Air Force were conducting a strategic bombing campaign day, in retaliation, Adolf Hitler ordered Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, to prepare a bombing operation against the United Kingdom. Christened Steinbock, the offensive also served as propaganda value for the German public and domestic consumption. The operation ran parallel to Bomber Commands campaign against Berlin, placed under the command of Generalmajor Dietrich Peltz, Luftflotte 3, the Germans assembled 474 bomber aircraft for the offensive. The attacks were aimed at and around the Greater London area. In Britain, it was known as the Baby Blitz due to the smaller scale of operations compared to The Blitz. The operation began in January and ended in May 1944, the operation achieved very little, and the German force suffered a loss of some 329 machines during the five months of operations—an average of 77 per month—before it was abandoned. Since its inception in 1909, German aerial doctrine covered most aspects of warfare, close air support, strategic bombing, air interdiction. Doctrine was constantly refined after 1918 through the experiences of World War I, in the inter-war period and for the first years of World War II German air power did not develop night air defence capabilities to any appreciable degree. The British Royal Air Force and RAF Bomber Command remained equally incapable of inflicting damage on Germany, the strategic impasse remained until 1942 when Bomber Command returned in strength to German skies by night. Under the leadership of Arthur Harris the British bomber force grew in size, British scientific advances produced navigation aids which improved on bombing accuracy after the controversy of the Butt Report. British industries were also producing heavy bombers which replaced many of the elderly pre-war medium bomber designs, the consequences of these developments in the air war and Harris determination to end the war through bombing, were a series of destructive attacks on German industrial cities. The attack on Lübeck in March and Operation Millennium against Cologne in May 1942 was a precursor to larger, the Luftwaffe responded with the air attacks in 1942, aimed at selected targets of cultural and historical significance. Operation Gomorrah—the bombing of Hamburg—inflicted 76,600 casualties and destroyed parts of the city. By the end of 1943 the Allied Combined Bomber Offensive had taken a toll on Germany. Under the leadership of Generalleutnant Josef Kammhuber, the Luftwaffe night fighter force expanded and adapted to the threat, only once did the British lose as many as nine percent of the attacking force over Germany—during an attack on Pilsen, Czechoslovakia on 17 May 1943. This was below the ten percent required to force the British to abandon operations, kammhubers efforts were damaged by the amateurish leadership style of Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe
26.
V-1 flying bomb
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The V-1 was developed at Peenemünde Army Research Center by the Nazi German Luftwaffe during the Second World War. During initial development it was known by the codename Cherry Stone, the first V-1 was launched at London on 13 June 1944), one week after the successful Allied landings in Europe. After this, the V-1s were directed at the port of Antwerp and other targets in Belgium, the attacks stopped only a month before the war in Europe ended, when the last launch site in the Low Countries was overrun on 29 March 1945. On 9 November 1939, a proposal for an aircraft carrying a payload of 1,000 kg over a distance of 500 km was forwarded to the RLM. On 31 May, Rudolf Bree of the RLM commented that he saw no chance that the projectile could be deployed in combat conditions, as the proposed remote-control system was seen as a design weakness. Heinrich Koppenberg, the director of Argus, met with Ernst Udet on 6 January 1941 to try to convince him that the development should be continued, despite this, Gosslau was convinced that the basic idea was sound and proceeded to simplify the design. On 22 January 1942, Lusser took up a position with the Fieseler aircraft company and he met with Koppenberg on 27 February and was informed of Gosslaus project. Gosslaus design used two engines, Lusser improved the design to use a single engine. A final proposal for the project was submitted to the Technical Office of the RLM on 5 June and the project was renamed Fi 103, as Fieseler was to be the chief contractor. By 30 August, Fieseler had completed the first fuselage, and the first flight of the Fi 103 V7 took place on 10 December, the V-1 was named by The Reich journalist Hans Schwarz Van Berkl in June 1944 with Hitlers approval. The V-1 was designed under the codename Kirschkern by Lusser and Gosslau, with a fuselage constructed mainly of welded sheet steel, the simple, Argus-built pulsejet engine pulsed 50 times per second, and the characteristic buzzing sound gave rise to the colloquial names buzz bomb or doodlebug. It was known briefly in Germany as Maikäfer and Krähe, ignition of the Argus pulsejet was accomplished using an automotive type spark plug located about 76 cm behind the intake shutters, with current supplied from a portable starting unit. The Argus As 014 could operate at zero airspeed because of the nature of its intake shutters, ramp-launch velocity for an operational V-1 was 580 km/h as it left the end of the launch ramp. Beginning in January 1941, the V-1s pulsejet engine was tested on a variety of craft, including automobiles. The unsuccessful prototype was a version of a Sprengboot, in which a boat loaded with explosives was steered towards a target ship, the Tornado was assembled from surplus seaplane hulls connected in catamaran fashion with a small pilot cabin on the crossbeams. The Tornado prototype was a noisy underperformer and was abandoned in favour of conventional piston engined craft. The engine made its first flight aboard a Gotha Go 145 on 30 April 1941, the V-1 guidance system used a simple autopilot developed by Askania in Berlin to regulate altitude and airspeed. A weighted pendulum system provided fore-and-aft attitude measurement to control pitch, operating power for the gyroscope platform and the flight-control actuators was provided by two large spherical compressed air tanks that also pressurized the fuel tank
27.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
28.
AAC Middle Wallop
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AAC Middle Wallop is a British Army base near the Hampshire village of Middle Wallop. The base hosts 2 Regiment Army Air Corps and 7 Regiment AAC under the umbrella of the Army Aviation Centre. The role of 2 Regiment is ground training and the role of 7 Regiment is Aircrew training, the base was previously under Royal Air Force control and it was then known as RAF Middle Wallop. The base was opened as RAF Middle Wallop, a school for new pilots in 1940. In September 1940604 Squadron RAF a specialist night fighter unit received the Bristol Beaufighter, equipped with four 20-mm cannon under the nose and improved Mark IV AI radio-location equipment. As one of the few Squadrons thus equipped,604 squadron helped provide night time defence over the UK during the Blitz from late 1940 until mid-May 1941, in this time 50 air victories had been claimed by No.604 Squadron,14 by F/L John Cunningham. RAF Chilbolton was designated the relief landing airfield for Middle Wallop, until it became a fully fledged Fighter Station in its own right, Middle Wallop was also used by the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force as IX Fighter Command Headquarters beginning in November 1943. Along with its headquarters mission, the airfield hosted the 67th Reconnaissance Group being moved from RAF Membury in December 1943 to be in close proximity to IX FC Headquarters. After D-Day, both the 67th RG moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Le Molay-Littry and IX FC Headquarters moved to Les Obeaux, during the American use, the airfield was designated as USAAF Station 449, ID Code, MW. Middle Wallop returned to Royal Air Force use from July 1944 for No.418 Squadron RCAF, in January 1945, in an exchange with the RAF, Middle Wallop was transferred to Royal Navy use and became RNAS Middle Wallop. HMS Flycatcher the HQ for the Mobile Naval Air Base organization then moved in from RNAS Ludham, which reverted to RAF use. Five units were assembled at Middle Wallop, four transferring to Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore as planned, in 1946 the Royal Air Force occupied Middle Wallop again. No.164 Squadron RAF with its Spitfires came and were renumbered to No.63 Squadron RAF, the following year No.227 OCU, an Army Air Observation Post training unit, was moved to the airfield. This was renamed as the Air Observation Post School in 1950, from mid-1953 to 1957, Middle Wallop was the home for No.288 Squadron RAF with its Boulton Paul Balliols. In 1954 a Development Flight with helicopters was formed there, this led to the Joint Experimental Helicopter Unit in 1955. On 1 September 1957, when British Army aviation became independent of the RAF, Middle Wallop transferred to the new Army Air Corps, and it changed its name to the Army Aviation Centre on 1 August 2009. This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, Freeman, Roger A. UK Airfields of the Ninth, Then and Now 1994. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-80-0 Freeman, Roger A, the Ninth Air Force in Colour, UK and the Continent-World War Two
29.
RAF Bradwell Bay
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RAF Bradwell Bay is a former Royal Air Force station located 9.5 miles east of Maldon, Essex, England and 3.1 miles south west of West Mersea, Essex. The airfield was first used as grass landing strip for the firing ranges before being turned into a RAF station with concrete runways. The station is unique as it was the fighter station where the Fog Investigation. No.3 Fighter Command Servicing Unit, no.5 Fighter Command Servicing Unit. Part of the site is currently being used by the Bradwell nuclear power station, several of the hangars are still used as storage by the local farmers and the control tower is now a private house. Agricultural buildings, built in the 70s and 80s on runways one, list of former Royal Air Force stations
30.
RAF Coltishall
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It was a fighter airfield in the Second World War and afterwards a station for night fighters then ground attack aircraft until closure. The last of the Jaguar squadrons left on 1 April 2006, the station motto was Aggressive in Defence. Work on RAF Coltishall was started in February 1939, the airfield, then known as Scottow Aerodrome, was initially built as a bomber station, on land near Scottow Hall. The airfield was completed and entered service in May 1940 as a fighter base, the first aircraft movement at Coltishall was a Bristol Blenheim IV L7835 flown by Sergeant RG Bales and Sergeant Barnes. During the Second World War, Coltishall operated the Hawker Hurricane, and it later became home to night fighters. At the same time the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm operated aircraft from RAF Coltishall over the North Sea, at the end of the war, Coltishall was briefly given over to Polish squadrons until they returned home. Post-war, the station was home to a variety of units and aircraft including de Havilland Mosquitos, Gloster Javelins, English Electric Lightnings, the last Lightnings left Coltishall in 1974, and were replaced by the Anglo-French SEPECAT Jaguar. The first Jaguar squadron, No.54 Squadron RAF, arrived at Coltishall on 8 August 1974, with the anticipated arrival of the Eurofighter Typhoon in the RAF, the gradual retirement of the Jaguar force began. Coltishall was not chosen as a future Typhoon airfield for a number of reasons, and so, with no future RAF role for Coltishall, the UKs Ministry of Defence, in the Delivering Security in a Changing World review, announced that the station would close by December 2006. The first two Jaguar squadrons to disband, No.16 Squadron RAF and No.54 Squadron RAF, the final front line RAF movement from the station was by Jaguar XZ112, piloted by Jim Luke, on 3 April 2006. Some limited flying from light aircraft including those of the Coltishall Flying Club did continue after the end of RAF flying operations, while 1 April 2006 saw the disbandment parade for the station, it did not actually disband and finally close until 30 November 2006. Associated facilities such as the Douglas Bader Primary School were also closed, on 30 November 2006, RAF Coltishall was officially handed over to Defence Estates who are to handle the disposal of the site, and will be formally known as MoD Coltishall until its ultimate disposal. Sold to Norfolk County council for £4,000,000.00 and is To-Let as of 16.03.2014, note, The ranks shown are the ranks held at the time of holding the appointment of Commanding Officer, Royal Air Force Coltishall. During January 2007, the Home Office expressed an interest in the site, and in early February earmarked it for use as an immigration detention facility. In July 2007, a petition was set up on the 10 Downing St website by Jeremy Godwin to campaign for Coltishall to be reopened as a Civil Airfield. In December 2007, fresh reports in the media suggested the site would be used as a prison, in January 2009, a plan to build a Category C prison at the site was approved by North Norfolk District Council. The new establishment will be known as HMP Bure, named after a nearby river, on 19 July 2010, North Norfolk District Council proposed that the entire site should be designated as a Conservation Area because of its historical and architectural interest. In April 2015, Scottow Moor Solar Limited built a 32MW solar farm on the site, in April 2016, another 18MW of solar panels were added, bringing the solar farms total capacity to 50MW
31.
Gloster Meteor
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The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies only operational jet aircraft during the Second World War. The Meteors development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, development of the aircraft began in 1940, although work on the engines had been under way since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No.616 Squadron RAF, nicknamed the Meatbox, the Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Glosters 1946 civil Meteor F.4 demonstrator G-AIDC was the first civilian-registered jet aircraft in the world, several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces, the Meteor saw limited action in the Second World War. Meteors of the Royal Australian Air Force fought in the Korean War, several other operators such as Argentina, Egypt and Israel flew Meteors in later regional conflicts. Specialised variants of the Meteor were developed for use in aerial reconnaissance. The Meteor was also used for research and development purposes and to several aviation records. On 7 November 1945, the first official air speed record by a jet aircraft was set by a Meteor F.3 of 606 miles per hour, in 1946, this record was broken when a Meteor F.4 reached a speed of 616 mph. Other performance-related records were broken in categories including flight time endurance, rate of climb, on 20 September 1945, a heavily modified Meteor I, powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent turbine engines driving propellers, became the first turboprop aircraft to fly. On 10 February 1954, a specially adapted Meteor F.8, the Meteor Prone Pilot, as of 2013, two Meteors, WL419 and WA638, remain in active service with the Martin-Baker company as ejection seat testbeds. Two further aircraft in the UK remain airworthy, as another in Australia. Securing funding was a persistently worrying issue throughout the development of the engine. On 28 April 1939, Whittle made a visit to the premises of the Gloster Aircraft Company, Power Jets and Gloster quickly formed a mutual understanding around mid-1939. The success of the smaller E. 28/39 proved the viability of jet propulsion, due to the limited thrust available from early jet engines, it was decided that subsequent production aircraft would be powered by a pair of turbojet engines.2 and axial engine designs. In August 1940, Carter presented Glosters initial proposals for a jet fighter with a nosewheel undercarriage. On 7 February 1941, Gloster received an order for twelve prototypes under Specification F9/40, test locations and other key project information was similarly obscured. Gloster continued development work on the Meteor and the order was overturned in favour of the construction of six F9/40 prototypes alongside three E. 1/44 prototypes
32.
RAF Stradishall
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No.207 Squadron RAF, No.208 Squadron RAF, No.214 Squadron RAF, No.215 Squadron RAF, No.236 Squadron RAF, No.245 Squadron RAF, No.254 Squadron RAF, No.263 Squadron RAF. The airfield closed in 1970 and is now the site of two category C prisons, HMP Highpoint North and HMP Highpoint South, part of the former airfield remains a Ministry of Defence training site which is not accessible to the public. The airfield has been sold to a buyer to be converted into farm land and is out of bounds to the public. There is a memorial to RAF Stradishall outside Stirling House which was part of the officers quarters and is now a training unit for the Prison service. RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive Record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons, shrewsbury, Shropshire, UK, Airlife Publishing,1988. History of Bomber Command Unit details RAF Stradishall RAF Stradishall history
33.
De Havilland Venom
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The de Havilland DH112 Venom was a British postwar single-engined jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Vampire. It served with the Royal Air Force as a single-seat fighter-bomber, the Venom was exported to Iraq, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and Venezuela. The Sea Venom was a version for carrier operation. The Venom was produced as a successor to the Vampire, which had been the second jet aircraft to service with the RAF. In 1948, de Havilland proposed a development of the Vampire with a wing and more powerful engine as a high altitude fighter. Although generally similar in appearance to the Vampire, sharing the distinctive twin-boom tail and composite wood/metal structure, the Venom was a completely new design. The proposal was adopted and a Vampire F1 was converted by fitting the new de Havilland Ghost engine, as the DH112, the Venom filled an Air Ministry requirement for a fast, manoeuvrable and capable fighter-bomber to replace the Vampire. The first Venom prototype flew on 2 September 1949, and the first Venom variant and it was powered by a single 4,850 lbf thrust Ghost 48 Mk.1 engine. The next Venom, the NF.2 night fighter, first flew on 22 August 1950 and entered service in 1953, the fuselage was redesigned to accommodate a two-man crew, seated side-by-side, and an airborne interception radar installed in the nose. It replaced the Vampire NF10, and was followed by the NF3, the last night fighter variant of the Venom, the final Venom for the RAF was the single-seat FB.4 which first flew on 29 December 1953. It entered service in 1955 and 250 were built and it was powered by a single 4,850 lbf thrust de Havilland Ghost 103 turbojet engine. It was the first Venom to be fitted with a seat and also had redesigned tail surfaces. Main production of the Venom was by de Havilland, augmented by numbers of FB.1, FB.4, while there, the Venom supported operations against Communist guerrillas as part of Operation Firedog, the codename for Royal Air Force operations in Malaya. Venoms were lent to the Royal New Zealand Air Force for use in the conflict where they operated with No.14 Squadron RNZAF. The Venom also saw service during the Suez Crisis being operated by Nos.6,8 and 249 Squadrons RAF flying from RAF Akrotiri, the Anglo-French invasion, codenamed Operation Musketeer, took place in response to the nationalisation of the Suez Canal by Egypts leader, General Nasser. The air war began on 31 October 1956 signalling the beginning of the Suez War, the Venoms launched a number of sorties, attacking a variety of military installations on the ground. They also saw action in the Middle East, supporting operations against terrorists in Aden and Oman, Venoms additionally saw service during the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya. The last non-RAF Venoms to leave active service were Swiss Air Force Venoms which retired in 1983, DH112 Venom - Single-seat prototype
34.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
United Kingdom
Royal Air Force