1.
ICAO airport code
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The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating aerodromes around the world. ICAO codes are used to identify other aviation facilities such as weather stations, International Flight Service Stations or Area Control Centers. Flight information regions are identified by a unique ICAO-code. Code selections in North America were based on existing radio station identifiers, for example, radio stations in Canada were already starting with C, so it seemed logical to begin Canadian airport identifiers with Cxxx. The United States had many pre-existing airports with established mnemonic codes and their ICAO codes were formed simply by prepending a K to the existing codes, as half the radio station identifiers in the US began with K. Most ICAO codes outside the US and Canada have a geographical structure. Most of the rest of the world was classified in a more planned top-down manner, thus Uxxx referred to the Soviet Union with the second letter denoting the specific region within it, and so forth. Europe had too many locations for one starting letter, so it was split into Exxx for northern Europe. The second letter was more specific, EGxx was the United Kingdom, EDxx was West Germany, ETxx was East Germany, LExx was Spain, LAxx was Albania, France was designated LFxx, as the counterpart EFxx was the unambiguously northern Finland. ICAO codes are separate and different from IATA codes, which are used for airline timetables, reservations. For example, the IATA code for Londons Heathrow Airport is LHR, in general IATA codes are usually derived from the name of the airport or the city it serves, while ICAO codes are distributed by region and country. Far more aerodromes have ICAO codes than IATA codes, and to add to the confusion IATA codes are assigned to railway stations. Unlike the IATA codes, the ICAO codes generally have a structure and are comprehensive. In general, the first letter is allocated by continent and represents a country or group of countries within that continent, the second letter generally represents a country within that region, and the remaining two are used to identify each airport. The exception to rule is larger countries that have single-letter country codes. In either case, ICAO codes generally provide geographical context unlike IATA codes, for example, if one knows that the ICAO code for Heathrow is EGLL, then one can deduce that the airport EGGP is somewhere in the UK. On the other hand, knowing that the IATA code for Heathrow is LHR does not enable one to deduce the location of the airport LHV with any greater certainty, there are a few exceptions to the regional structure of the ICAO code made for political or administrative reasons. Similarly Saint Pierre and Miquelon is controlled by France, and airports there are assigned LFxx as though they were in Europe, further, in region L, all available 2-letter prefixes have been exhausted and thus no additional countries can be added
2.
Air Ministry
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The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the authority of the Secretary of State for Air. The new Air Committee was composed of representatives of the two war ministries, and although it could make recommendations, it lacked executive authority. The recommendations of the Air Committee had to be ratified by the Admiralty Board and the Imperial General Staff and, in consequence, the Committee was not particularly effective. The increasing separation of army and naval aviation from 1912 to 1914 only exacerbated the Air Committees ineffectiveness and it was the supply problems to which an attempt at rectification was first made. This committee was titled the Joint War Air Committee, and its chairman was Lord Derby and it was also at the meeting on 15 February that Curzon proposed the creation of an Air Ministry. As with the pre-war Air Committee, the Joint War Air Committee lacked any executive powers, after only eight sittings, Lord Derby resigned from the Committee, stating that It appears to me quite impossible to bring the two wings closer together. Unless and until the system of the Air Service is changed. The next attempt to establish effective co-ordination between the two air services was the creation of an Air Board, the first Air Board came into being on 15 May 1916 with Lord Curzon as its chairman. The inclusion of Curzon, a Cabinet Minister, and other political figures was intended to give the Air Board greater status than the Joint War Air Committee, in October 1916 the Air Board published its first report which was highly critical of the arrangements within the British air services. In January 1917 the Prime Minister David Lloyd George replaced the chairman Lord Curzon with Lord Cowdray. Godfrey Paine, who served in the newly created post of Fifth Sea Lord and Director of Naval Aviation, sat on the board, despite attempts at reorganization of the Air Board, the earlier problems failed to be completely resolved. In addition, the number of German air raids against Great Britain led to public disquiet. Towards the end of the First World War, on 17 August 1917, Lord Rothermere was appointed the first Air Minister. Later, in 1919, it moved to Adastral House on Kingsway, the creation of the Air Ministry resulted in the disestablishment of the Army Councils post of Director-General of Military Aeronautics. In April 1921 David Lloyd George appointed Frederick Guest as Secretary of State for Air, more importantly in the long term he was also responsible for the appointment of Sir Sefton Brancker to develop civil aviation. With the fall of Lloyd George in October 1922 Sir Samuel Hoare became the Secretary of State for Air. He was the first Secretary to have a seat in the Cabinet, and remained in the post until January 1924, a supporter of airships, Thomson was responsible for the Imperial Airship Scheme, which involved the construction of R101 at the Royal Airship Works at Cardington
3.
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
4.
United States Army Air Forces
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Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff. S. Army to control its own installations and support personnel, the peak size of the AAF during the Second World War was over 2.4 million men and women in service and nearly 80,000 aircraft by 1944, and 783 domestic bases in December 1943. By V-E Day, the Army Air Forces had 1.25 million men stationed overseas, in its expansion and conduct of the war, the AAF became more than just an arm of the greater organization. By the end of World War II, the Army Air Forces had become virtually an independent service and this contrast between theory and fact is. fundamental to an understanding of the AAF. Gen. Billy Mitchell that led to his later court-martial, a strategy stressing precision bombing of industrial targets by heavily armed, long-range bombers emerged, formulated by the men who would become its leaders. Since 1920, control of units had resided with commanders of the corps areas. Both were created in 1933 when a conflict with Cuba seemed possible following a coup détat. Activation of GHQ Air Force represented a compromise between strategic airpower advocates and ground force commanders who demanded that the Air Corps mission remain tied to that of the land forces. GHQ Air Force organized combat groups administratively into a force of three wings deployed to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts but was small in comparison to European air forces. Corps area commanders continued to control over airfields and administration of personnel. The expected activation of Army General Headquarters prompted Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall to request a study from Chief of the Air Corps Maj. Gen. Henry H. Arnold resulting on 5 October 1940 in a proposal for creation of an air staff, unification of the air arm under one commander, and equality with the ground and supply forces. Marshall implemented a compromise that the Air Corps found entirely inadequate, naming Arnold as acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Air but rejecting all organizational points of his proposal. GHQ Air Force instead was assigned to the control of Army General Headquarters, although the latter was a training and not an operational component, when it was activated in November 1940. A division of the GHQ Air Force into four air defense districts on 19 October 1940 was concurrent with the creation of air forces to defend Hawaii. The air districts were converted in March 1941 into numbered air forces with an organization of 54 groups. Marshall had come to the view that the air forces needed a simpler system, Arnold and Marshall agreed that the AAF would enjoy a general autonomy within the War Department until the end of the war, while its commanders would cease lobbying for independence. Marshall, a proponent of airpower, left understood that the Air Force would likely achieve its independence following the war
5.
Gosfield
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Gosfield is a village in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is located two miles west of the town of Halstead. Places of note include the following, Gosfield Hall, a country house, Gosfield Sandpits, a Local Nature Reserve. List of civil parishes in Essex Media related to Gosfield at Wikimedia Commons Gosfield village
6.
Braintree, Essex
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Braintree is a town in Essex, England. The principal settlement of Braintree District, it is located 10 miles northeast of Chelmsford and 15 miles west of Colchester. According to the 2011 Census, the town had a population of 41,634, while the urban area, Braintree has grown contiguous with several surrounding settlements. Braintree proper lies on the River Brain and to the south of Stane Street, the two are sometimes referred to together as Braintree and Bocking, and since 1934 they form the civil parish of that name. Braintree is bypassed by the modern-day A120 and A131 roads, while trains serve two stations in the town, at the end of the Braintree Branch Line. Braintree is twinned with Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, France, and gives its name to the towns of Braintree, Massachusetts and Braintree, Vermont, the origin of the name Braintree is obscure. One theory is that Braintree was originally Branocs tree, Branoc apparently being an ancient name, another theory is that the name is derived from that of Rayne, which was actually the more important settlement in Norman times. Braintree, Essex was also called Brantry and Branchetreu in the Domesday Book, the River Brain is another possible origin. Tree comes from the Saxon suffix, more commonly spelled try, in many early American Colonial documents, it is referred to as Branktry. Here again, the reference to a river would indicate that Braintree literally means town by the river, another variation can be seen in various Medieval Latin legal records, where it appears as Branktre. Braintree dates back over 4,000 years when it was just a small village, people in the area during the Bronze and Iron Ages, built houses on the lower part of the town, near the River Brain, known as the Brain Valley. This area was inhabited by the Saxons, who occupied the town after the Romans had left. Notable road names in Braintree now coincide with names of people who fought for the town, other road names are of places that have since been built on, such as Coldnailhurst Avenue, Beckers Green Road, Marks Farm residential estate, and Fairfield Road. When the Romans invaded, they built two roads, a settlement developed at the junction of two roads but was later abandoned when the Romans left Britain. The town was recorded in the Domesday Book of 1085 when it was called Branchetreu and consisted of 30 acres in the possession of Richard, son of Count Gilbert. Pilgrims used the town as a stop-over, the size of the town increased, as early as the 14th Century, Braintree was processing and manufacturing woollen cloth, a trade which it had seen the use of up until the late 19th century. The town prospered from the 17th century when Flemish immigrants made the famous for its wool cloth trade. They took the current manufacturing methods to a finer detail
7.
Essex
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Essex /ˈɛsᵻks/ is a county in England immediately north-east of London. It borders the counties of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, the county town is Chelmsford, which is the only city in the county. Essex occupies the part of the old Kingdom of Essex, before this. As well as areas, the county also includes London Stansted Airport, the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, Lakeside Shopping Centre, the port of Tilbury. Originally recorded in AD527, Essex occupied territory to the north of the River Thames, incorporating all of what later became Middlesex and its territory was later restricted to lands east of the River Lea. In changes before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England and, following the Norman conquest, Essex became a county. During the medieval period, much of the area was designated a Royal forest, including the county in a period to 1204. Gradually, the subject to forest law diminished, but at various times included the forests of Becontree, Chelmsford, Epping, Hatfield, Ongar. County-wide administration Essex County Council was formed in 1889, however County Boroughs of West Ham, Southend-on-Sea and East Ham formed part of the county but were unitary authorities. 12 boroughs and districts provide more localised services such as rubbish and recycling collections, leisure and planning, parish-level administration – changes A few Essex parishes have been transferred to other counties. Before 1889, small areas were transferred to Hertfordshire near Bishops Stortford, Essex became part of the East of England Government Office Region in 1994 and was statistically counted as part of that region from 1999, having previously been part of the South East England region. Two unitary authorities In 1998 the boroughs of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock were granted autonomy from the county of Essex after successful requests to become unitary authorities. Essex Police covers the county and the two unitary authorities. The county council chamber and main headquarters is at the County Hall in Chelmsford, before 1938 the council regularly met in London near Moorgate, which with significant parts closer to that point and the dominance of railways had been more convenient than any place in the county. It currently has 75 elected councillors, before 1965, the number of councillors reached over 100. The highest point of the county of Essex is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, close to the Hertfordshire border, the pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. Epping Forest also acts as a barrier to the further spread of London. Part of the southeast of the county, already containing the population centres of Basildon, Southend and Thurrock, is within the Thames Gateway
8.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
9.
Runway
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According to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a runway is a defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft. Runways may be a surface or a natural surface. Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally the magnetic azimuth of the heading in decadegrees. This heading differs from true north by the magnetic declination. A runway numbered 09 points east, runway 18 is south, runway 27 points west, when taking off from or landing on runway 09, a plane would be heading 90°. A runway can normally be used in both directions, and is named for each separately, e. g. runway 33 in one direction is runway 15 when used in the other. The two numbers usually differ by 18, Runway Zero Three Left becomes Runway Two One Right when used in the opposite direction. In some countries, if parallel runways are too close to each other, at large airports with four or more parallel runways some runway identifiers are shifted by 10 degrees to avoid the ambiguity that would result with more than three parallel runways. For example, in Los Angeles, this results in runways 6L, 6R, 7L. At Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, there are five parallel runways, named 17L, 17C, 17R, 18L, for clarity in radio communications, each digit in the runway name is pronounced individually, runway three six, runway one four, etc. A leading zero, for example in runway zero six or runway zero one left, is included for all ICAO, however, most U. S. civil aviation airports drop the leading zero as required by FAA regulation. This also includes some military airfields such as Cairns Army Airfield and this American anomaly may lead to inconsistencies in conversations between American pilots and controllers in other countries. It is very common in a such as Canada for a controller to clear an incoming American aircraft to, for example, runway 04. In flight simulation programs those of American origin might apply U. S. usage to airports around the world, for example, runway 05 at Halifax will appear on the program as the single digit 5 rather than 05. Runway designations change over time because the magnetic poles slowly drift on the Earths surface, depending on the airport location and how much drift takes place, it may be necessary over time to change the runway designation. As runways are designated with headings rounded to the nearest 10 degrees, for example, if the magnetic heading of a runway is 233 degrees, it would be designated Runway 23. If the magnetic heading changed downwards by 5 degrees to 228, if on the other hand the original magnetic heading was 226, and the heading decreased by only 2 degrees to 224, the runway should become Runway 22. Because the drift itself is slow, runway designation changes are uncommon
10.
Asphalt
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Asphalt, also known as bitumen is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in deposits or may be a refined product. Until the 20th century, the term asphaltum was also used, the word is derived from the Ancient Greek ἄσφαλτος ásphaltos. The primary use of asphalt/bitumen is in construction, where it is used as the glue or binder mixed with aggregate particles to create asphalt concrete. Its other main uses are for bituminous waterproofing products, including production of roofing felt, the terms asphalt and bitumen are often used interchangeably to mean both natural and manufactured forms of the substance. In American English, asphalt is the carefully refined residue from the process of selected crude oils. Outside the United States, the product is often called bitumen, geologists often prefer the term bitumen. Common usage often refers to forms of asphalt/bitumen as tar. Naturally occurring asphalt/bitumen is sometimes specified by the crude bitumen. Its viscosity is similar to that of cold molasses while the material obtained from the distillation of crude oil boiling at 525 °C is sometimes referred to as refined bitumen. The Canadian province of Alberta has most of the reserves of natural bitumen, covering 142,000 square kilometres. Additionally, most natural bitumens contain organosulfur compounds, resulting in a sulfur content of up to 4%. Nickel and vanadium are found in the <10 ppm level, as is typical of some petroleum, the substance is soluble in carbon disulfide. It is commonly modelled as a colloid, with asphaltenes as the dispersed phase, and it is almost impossible to separate and identify all the different molecules of asphalt, because the number of molecules with different chemical structure is extremely large. Asphalt/bitumen can sometimes be confused with tar, which is a visually similar black. During the early and mid-20th century when town gas was produced, coal tar was a readily available byproduct, the addition of tar to macadam roads led to the word tarmac, which is now used in common parlance to refer to road-making materials. However, since the 1970s, when natural gas succeeded town gas, other examples of this confusion include the La Brea Tar Pits and the Canadian oil sands, both of which actually contain natural bitumen rather than tar. Pitch is another term used at times to refer to asphalt/bitumen
11.
Royal Air Force station
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A Royal Air Force station is a permanent Royal Air Force operations location. Most RAF stations are aerodromes, or airfields, being the home to one or more flying squadrons, other RAF stations are training units, administrative units, headquarters, or carry out ground-based operational tasks. Although many RAF units are called stations, they can only be properly classified as an RAF station if they are self-accounting with their own station commander. Units without a commander or headquarters staff will ordinarily be a satellite of an RAF station proper. In the early years of the RAF, very few of its bases were classified as stations, some bases which were locally known as RAF location name were officially listed under the units title. For example, No.1 Stores Depot was at RAF Kidbrooke which was described as No.1 Stores Depot in the official lists, in the years before World War II the RAF went through a period of rapid expansion. One means of achieving this expansion was to several units together at one location. This resulted in a growth in the number of stations. The commanding officer in charge of an RAF station is titled as the station commander, on flying units the station commander normally holds the rank of group captain. Most RAF stations are administratively sub-divided into wings, and are controlled by a station headquarters, on a flying station the subordinate wings have usually been called Operations Wing, Engineering Wing, and Administration Wing. Engineering wings are being split into Forward Support Wing and Depth Support Wings, while many Administration, flying stations are typically in remote or rural areas, and are geographically quite large in area. Non-flying RAF stations are much smaller in area than flying stations. They may be close to urban conurbations, and may sometimes be situated in historic mansions, manor houses, or other notable buildings of fine architectural quality. Current RAF stations are mainly in the United Kingdom, overseas RAF stations include RAF Akrotiri in Akrotiri and Dhekelia, RAF Gibraltar in Gibraltar, naval air station Royal Air Force official site
12.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
13.
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
14.
RAF Andrews Field
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Royal Air Force Andrews Field or more simply RAF Andrews Field is a former Royal Air Force station located 4 miles east-northeast of Great Dunmow Essex, England. Andrews Field was primarily the home of the USAAF Ninth Air Force 322d Bombardment Group during the Second World War, which flew the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber. After being transferred to the Air Ministry in late 1944, it was used briefly by RAF Fighter Command for Gloster Meteor jet fighter testing before being closed in late 1945. Today the remains of the airfield are located on property, being used as agricultural fields. Andrews Field was the first of fourteen Type A airfields built by the United States Army Air Fores in the United Kingdom during the Second World War. Originally designated as Great Saling, the facility was built by the United States Army 819th Engineer Battalion, Andrews Field had three runways, a main of 1, 830m aligned 09/27 and two crosswind secondary runways of 1, 280m aligned 02/20 and 15/33. It had a perimeter track that had three separate dispersal areas totaling 50 loop type hardstands and one frying pan type. Barracks facilities for about 3,000 personnel were constructed along with a site that had two T-2 type hangars for aircraft maintenance. Main construction was supposed to be completed in early January 1943, on 21 May 1943 the official name was changed to Andrews Field in honour of Lieutenant General Frank M Andrews. Andrews Field was known as USAAF Station AAF-485 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war and its USAAF Station Code was GZ. On 29 May 1943 they took part in a raid on Rennes naval storage depot from which one B-17 failed to return, the group was moved to RAF Snetterton Heath on 12 June 1943 in a general exchange of airfields with Martin B-26 Marauder 3d Bombardment Wing groups. Replacing the 96th was the 322d Bombardment Group which arrived from RAF Bury St. Edmunds on 12 June, the group was assigned to the 3d Bomb Wing and flew Martin B-26B/C Marauders. In common with other Marauder units of the 3rd Bomb Wing, beginning in March 1944 the 322nd bombed railway and highway bridges, oil tanks, and missile sites in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. On 8 May 1944, one of the 322nd aircraft, nicknamed Mild, another B-26, Flak Bait survived to the end of hostilities with 202 missions to its credit, the only US bomber involved in combat over Europe to pass the 200 mark. On D-Day,6 June 1944 the 322d Bomb Group attacked coastal defences, afterwards, during the Normandy campaign, the 322nd pounded fuel and ammunition dumps, bridges, and road junctions, supporting the Allied offensive at Caen and the breakthrough at Saint-Lô in July. From Andrews Field the 322d received a Distinguished Unit Citationfor the period 14 May 1943 –24 July 1944, the group moved during September 1944, transferring to Beauvais Airfield in northern France, and aiding the drive of Third Army across France. After V-E Day, the group was assigned to duty in Germany beginning in June 1945, engaging in inventorying and disassembling German Air Force equipment. Returned to the Camp Kilmer, New Jersey in December 1945, 1st Pathfinder Squadron The 1st Pathfinder Squadron was formed at Andrews Field in February 1944 and equipped with B-26s, carrying the Oboe radio transponder blind-bombing device
15.
Ninth Air Force
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The Ninth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces Air Combat Command. It has been headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, from 1990, units were deployed to the Middle East against Iraq, and from 2001 against threats emanating from Afghanistan. In this role, the organization was known as United States Air Forces Central, until August 2009, the Ninth Air Force shared its commander with USAFCENT. S. This article deals with the current organization, as the lineage of the organization currently belongs to USAFCENT. This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, archives of the Ninth Air Force Association Digital Collection at The University of Akron Archival Services Ninth Air Force Association
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132nd Wing
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The 132d Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Iowa Air National Guard and located at Des Moines Air National Guard Base, Iowa. The 132nds World War II predecessor unit, the 365th Fighter Group was a IX Fighter Command unit, the 365th, known as the Hell Hawks, was one of the most successful P-47 Thunderbolt fighter groups of the Ninth Air Force when it came to air combat. The 365th was awarded two Distinguished Unit Citations, Order of the Day, Belgium Army, Belgium Fourragère, the 365th Fighter Group flew its last mission on 8 May 1945. After having operated manned fighter aircraft for all of its prior history, moved to RAF Gosfield England in December 1943. It was several weeks before the 365th received a complement of 75 P-47D Thunderbolts. Flown on 22 February, was a bomber support sweep of short duration over enemy-held territory, one of the most successful Luftwaffe aces flying in the West with 102 victories, fell in this battle. On 5 March, with only nine missions to its credit the group moved south to RAF Beaulieu in Hampshire, the group was stood down three days after arrival so that it could undertake a two-week intensive course in ground attack and fighter-bombing. After training, the 365th flew dive-bombing missions to such targets as bridges, aerodromes, rail facilities, gun positions. On D-Day, its duties were attacking gun emplacements and communications facilities behind the bridgehead, on the following day when 12 separate squadron-sized missions were flown five aircraft failed to return. On 25 June, the 365th had one of its best days when eight enemy fighter-bombers were destroyed, on 2 July, Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Coffey, Jr. the Air Executive, became the Ninth Air Forces third Thunderbolt ace. As with other P-47 groups, losses were modest until ground attack became a task in June. All told,24 P-47s were missing in action during their stay at Beaulieu. S, on the continent, the group moved rapidly from one airfield to another, eventually winding up near Fritzlar, Germany on VE-Day. Engaged in routine training exercises, and was upgraded to F-84B Thunderjet jet aircraft in early 1948. The War Department authorized the establishment of Air National Guard units in all 48 states, the Air National Guard wing was organized by Colonel Frederick C. Gray, Jr. who was a veteran of the RAF, Colonel Gray, based in Des Moines, Iowa, acted as wing senior instructor for the three Air National Guard units which comprised the wing. Col. Grays appointment was made by Brigadier General Charles H. Grahl, Iowa Adjutant General, in 1946, Oscar Randolph Fladmark was appointed to the rank of Captain and the duty of a Flight Commander with the Air National Guard 175th Fighter Squadron based in Sioux Falls. Fladmarks appointment was approved by Colonel E. A, beckwith, South Dakota Adjutant General in Rapid City, South Dakota on 20 September 1946. Activated to Federal Service during the Korean War, sent to Dow AFB, used by TAC to train replacement pilots in F-51D Mustang ground support operations, also deployed unit members to Japan and Korea to fly combat missions
17.
Richmond International Airport
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Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Sandston, Virginia, an unincorporated community. The airport is about 7 miles southeast of downtown Richmond, the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond International Airport is the busiest airport in central Virginia and the third busiest in the state behind Washington D. Cs two major airports, Washington–Dulles and Washington–National. It is the 64th largest airport in the United States falling behind Memphis International Airport, seven commercial air carriers currently serve RIC, with non-stop flights to 22 destinations, and connecting flights to other countries. An estimated record 3,630,000 passengers used RIC in 2007, in October 2016 RIC reported its 32nd straight month of growth, with nearly 330,000 travelers that month. On December 8,2016 One Jet announced non-stop service from Richmond to Pittsburgh International Airport, the airline has also hinted at adding service from Richmond to Albany International Airport. To help accommodate the current and proposed increase in passengers and air service and it has increased the number of gates to 28, added parking spaces, and created a new terminal roadway and air traffic control tower. Construction on the renovated two-level terminal was completed in spring 2007, in 2016, Richmond International Airport handled over 63,000 tons of cargo, an all-time high. Cargo services offered at the airport more than 100,000 square feet of warehouse/office space and 1,000,000 square feet of apron space. The airport is designated a Foreign Trade Zone, because of its position on the Eastern Seaboard, cargo transit via RIC is on the rise. Goods shipped out of the metropolitan Richmond area can reach 68% of the U. S. population within 24 hours,2016 was a record breaking year for RIC. The most western flight ever from RIC started on United Airlines, and Delta begun serving Richmond with larger aircraft on its 7 routes (planes were Boeing 757, Boeing 737, E170, and CRJ900. American Airlines, recently merged with US Airways started more flights to PHL, ORD, LGA, Jet Blue started 3 more daily flights to ORL. Two new airlines were welcomed into RIC, Allegiant, and One Jet, Piedmont Airlines will open up a hub in RIC,5 jets are based in RIC doing daily flights to PHL, and LGA. Piedmont did a 2 million dollar renovation of one of the hangars at RIC, the airport was dedicated as Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field in 1927 in honor of aviator Richard E. Byrd, brother of then Gov. Harry F. Byrd. Charles Lindbergh attended the dedication ceremony, although the facility was in Henrico County, Richmond Mayor John Fulmer Bright was instrumental in the creation of Byrd Field, which was initially owned by the City of Richmond. It was renamed Richard E. Byrd Airport in 1950, the current president and CEO of the airport is Jon Mathiasen. A terminal building designed by Marcellus Wright and Son was completed in 1950 and it was expanded from 1968 to 1970, which included the current passenger concourses. The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows 43 weekday departures,22 on Eastern,10 Piedmont,5 American,4 National, in 2007, the airport served 3,634,544 passengers, a record for the airport, a 10. 3% increase over 2006
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Virginia
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Virginia is a state located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, as well as in the historic Southeast. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are shaped by the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Chesapeake Bay, the capital of the Commonwealth is Richmond, Virginia Beach is the most populous city, and Fairfax County is the most populous political subdivision. The Commonwealths estimated population as of 2014 is over 8.3 million, the areas history begins with several indigenous groups, including the Powhatan. In 1607 the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent New World English colony, slave labor and the land acquired from displaced Native American tribes each played a significant role in the colonys early politics and plantation economy. Although the Commonwealth was under one-party rule for nearly a century following Reconstruction, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest continuous law-making body in the New World. The state government was ranked most effective by the Pew Center on the States in both 2005 and 2008 and it is unique in how it treats cities and counties equally, manages local roads, and prohibits its governors from serving consecutive terms. Virginias economy changed from agricultural to industrial during the 1960s and 1970s. Virginia has an area of 42,774.2 square miles, including 3,180.13 square miles of water. Virginias boundary with Maryland and Washington, D. C. extends to the mark of the south shore of the Potomac River. The southern border is defined as the 36° 30′ parallel north, the border with Tennessee was not settled until 1893, when their dispute was brought to the U. S. Supreme Court. The Chesapeake Bay separates the portion of the Commonwealth from the two-county peninsula of Virginias Eastern Shore. The bay was formed from the river valleys of the Susquehanna River. Many of Virginias rivers flow into the Chesapeake Bay, including the Potomac, Rappahannock, York, and James, the Tidewater is a coastal plain between the Atlantic coast and the fall line. It includes the Eastern Shore and major estuaries of Chesapeake Bay, the Piedmont is a series of sedimentary and igneous rock-based foothills east of the mountains which were formed in the Mesozoic era. The region, known for its clay soil, includes the Southwest Mountains around Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Mountains are a province of the Appalachian Mountains with the highest points in the state. The Ridge and Valley region is west of the mountains and includes the Great Appalachian Valley, the region is carbonate rock based and includes Massanutten Mountain. The Cumberland Plateau and the Cumberland Mountains are in the southwest corner of Virginia, in this region, rivers flow northwest, with a dendritic drainage system, into the Ohio River basin
19.
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
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The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II era fighter aircraft produced by the United States between 1941–1945. Its primary armament was eight. 50-caliber machine guns and in the fighter-bomber ground-attack role it could carry five-inch rockets or a load of 2,500 pounds. When fully loaded the P-47 weighed up to eight tons making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp engine which was used by two U. S. Navy fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to-medium range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat, the P-47 was one of the main United States Army Air Forces fighters of World War II, and served with Allied air forces including France, Britain, and Russia. Mexican and Brazilian squadrons fighting alongside the U. S. were equipped with the P-47, the armored cockpit was relatively roomy and comfortable, offering good visibility. A modern-day U. S. ground-attack aircraft, the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, both had fled from their homeland to escape the Bolsheviks. In 1939, Republic Aviation designed the AP-4 demonstrator powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engine with a belly-mounted turbocharger. While the resulting Republic P-43 Lancer was in limited production, Republic had been working on an improved P-44 Rocket with a powerful engine. The latter was an aircraft powered by the Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled V-12 engine. The United States Army Air Corps backed the project and gave it the designation XP-47, as the war in Europe escalated in spring 1940, Republic and the USAAC concluded that the XP-44 and the XP-47 were inferior to the Luftwaffe fighters. Republic unsuccessfully attempted to improve the design, proposing the XP-47A, kartveli then designed a much larger fighter, which was offered to the USAAC in June 1940. The Air Corps ordered a prototype in September, to be designated the XP-47B, the XP-47A, which had little in common with the new design, was abandoned. The XP-47B was of construction with elliptical wings, with a straight leading edge that was slightly swept back. The air-conditioned cockpit was roomy and the seat was comfortable—like a lounge chair. Main and auxiliary self-sealing fuel tanks were placed under the cockpit, the cowling admitted cooling air for the engine, left and right oil coolers, and the turbosupercharger intercooler system. At full power, the pipes glowed red at their forward ends, the complicated turbosupercharger system with its ductwork gave the XP-47B a deep fuselage, and the wings had to be mounted in a relatively high position. This was problematic since long-legged main landing gear struts were needed to provide clearance for the enormous propeller
20.
84th Fighter Wing (World War II)
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The 84th Fighter Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the IX Tactical Air Command, based at Brunswick and it was inactivated on 12 August 1945. Established and organized at Blumenthal Field, North Carolina in 1943 as a command, deployed to the European Theater of Operations in early 1944 and assigned to IX Fighter Command, Ninth Air Force. Targets included bridges, roads, railroads and enemy interceptor aircraft both on the ground as well as in air-to-air combat. In December 1944/January 1945, engaged enemy targets on the side of the Battle of the Bulge. First Army halted its advance at the Elbe River in late April 1945, remained in Europe after the war as part of United States Air Forces in Europe, performing occupation duty and the destruction or shipment to the United States of captured enemy combat equipment. Personnel demobilized and was inactivated in Germany in August 1945, Combat Operations, Combat in European Theater of Operations,29 January 1944-May 1945. Constituted as 84th Fighter Wing on 4 November 1943 Activated on 10 November 1943 Disbanded on 12 August 1945. afhra. af. mil/, Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History, U. S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields, D-Day to V-E Day, Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
21.
IX Tactical Air Command
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The IX Tactical Air Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Camp Shanks and it was inactivated on 25 October 1945. Formed in England during 1943 as IX Air Support Command, targets included bridges, roads, railroads and enemy interceptor aircraft both on the ground as well as in air-to-air combat. Targets were expanded to include tanks, vehicles of all types. Many times targets of opportunity on the ground were spotted and attacked when seen, in the air, IX Tactical aggressively sought combat with Luftwaffe aircraft and cleared the skies above the battlefield of enemy aircraft. In December 1944/January 1945, engaged enemy targets on the side of the Battle of the Bulge. First Army halted its advance at the Elbe River in late April 1945, remained in Europe after the war as part of United States Air Forces in Europe, performing occupation duty and the destruction or shipment to the United States of captured enemy combat equipment. Assigned units also performed air defense duty over the American Zone of Occupation, demobilized in Germany in the late summer, inactivated as an administrative unit in the United States during October 1945. afhra. af. mil/. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History. U. S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields, D-Day to V-E Day, Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama
22.
Eighth Air Force
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The Eighth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Global Strike Command. It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, the command serves as Air Forces Strategic – Global Strike, one of the air components of United States Strategic Command. The Eighth Air Force includes the heart of Americas heavy bomber force, the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, the B-1 Lancer supersonic bomber, and it was the largest of the deployed combat Army Air Forces in numbers of personnel, aircraft, and equipment. Elements of 8 AF engaged in operations during the Korean War, Vietnam War. Eighth Air Force is one of two active duty numbered air forces in Air Force Global Strike Command, Eighth Air Force, with headquarters at Barksdale AFB, in the Bossier City – Shreveport, Louisiana, metro area, supports U. S. Joint Forces Command, and is designated as U. S. Strategic Commands Task Force 204, providing on-alert, the mission of The Mighty Eighth is to safeguard Americas interests through strategic deterrence and global combat power. Eighth Air Force controls long-range nuclear-capable bomber assets throughout the United States and its flexible, conventional and nuclear deterrence mission provides the capability to deploy forces and engage enemy threats from home station or forward positioned, anywhere, any time. The 8th Air Force motto is Peace Through Strength and this air power includes the heart of Americas heavy bomber force, the B-2 Spirit and the B-52 Stratofortress. The B-2 force consists of 20 bombers assigned to the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, for additional history and lineage, see United States Air Forces in Europe The history of Eighth Air Force begins on 2 January 1942 with its activation at Savannah Air Base, Georgia. In quick order, on 5 January, Major General Carl Spaatz assumed command of HQ Eighth Air Force at Bolling Field, Washington, on 8 January the order activating the U. S. Air Forces in the British Isles was announced. On 12 May, the first contingent of USAAF personnel arrived in England to join the Eighth Air Force, on 15 June, Spaatz arrived in England to establish the Headquarters of Eighth Air Force at Bushy Park,15 miles WSW of London. Eighth Air Force was the command and control organization over its operational components, VIII Bomber Command Strategic bombardment using heavy, VIII Fighter Command Provide fighter escort of heavy bombers VIII Air Support Command Provide reconnaissance, troop transport, and tactical bombardment using twin-engine medium bombers. VIII Air Service Command Service and logistical support, VIII Bomber Command was activated at Langley Field, Virginia, It was reassigned to Savannah Air Base, Georgia on 10 February 1942. The first combat group of VIII Bomber Command to arrive in the United Kingdom was the ground echelon of the 97th Bombardment Group, during World War II, the offensive air forces of the United States Army Air Forces came to be classified as strategic or tactical. In Europe, Eighth Air Force was the first USAAF strategic air force, Eighth Air Force carried out strategic daytime strategic bombing operations in Western Europe from airfields in eastern England. On 4 January 1944, the B-24s and B-17s based in England flew their last mission as a part of VIII Bomber Command. On 22 February 1944, a reorganization of American airpower took place in Europe. VIII Bomber Command was redesignated as Eighth Air Force, with VIII Fighter and this is from where the present-day Eighth Air Forces history, lineage and honors derive
23.
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
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The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps. Competing against Douglas and Martin for a contract to build 200 bombers, although Boeing lost the contract because the prototype crashed, the air corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation. From its introduction in 1938, the B-17 Flying Fortress evolved through numerous design advances, the B-17 was primarily employed by the United States Army Air Forces in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial and military targets. The B-17 also participated to an extent in the War in the Pacific, early in World War II. From its prewar inception, the USAAC promoted the aircraft as a weapon, it was a relatively fast, high-flying. It developed a reputation for toughness based upon stories and photos of badly damaged B-17s safely returning to base, the B-17 developed a reputation as an effective bomber, dropping more bombs than any other U. S. aircraft in World War II. Of the 1.5 million tonnes of bombs dropped on Germany, in addition to its role as a bomber, the B-17 was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft. As of May 2015, ten aircraft remain airworthy, none of them are combat veterans. Dozens more are in storage or on static display, the oldest of these is a D-series veteran of combat in the Pacific and the Caribbean. On 8 August 1934, the U. S. Army Air Corps tendered a proposal for a bomber to replace the Martin B-10. The air corps was looking for a capable of reinforcing the air forces in Hawaii, Panama. Requirements were that it would carry a useful bombload at an altitude of 10,000 ft for ten hours with a top speed of at least 200 mph. They also desired, but did not require, a range of 2,000 mi, the competition for the air corps contract would be decided by a fly-off between Boeings design, the Douglas DB-1, and the Martin Model 146 at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. The prototype B-17, with the Boeing factory designation of Model 299, was designed by a team of engineers led by E. Gifford Emery and Edward Curtis Wells and it combined features of the experimental Boeing XB-15 bomber with the Boeing 247 transport aircraft. The B-17s armament consisted of up to 4,800 lb of bombs on two racks in the bay behind the cockpit, and initially possessed five.30 caliber machine guns. It was powered by four Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet radial engines each producing 750 hp at 7,000 ft, the first flight of the Model 299 was on 28 July 1935 with Boeing chief test-pilot Leslie Tower at the controls. Richard Williams, a reporter for the Seattle Times, coined the name Flying Fortress with his comment, Why, when the Model 299 was rolled out bristling with multiple machine gun installations. The most unusual gun emplacement was the installation which allowed the single machine gun to be fired toward almost any frontal angle
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Consolidated B-24 Liberator
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The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some models were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s. At its inception, the B-24 was a design featuring a highly efficient shoulder-mounted. The wing gave the Liberator a high speed, long range. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine, however, the type was difficult to fly and had poor low speed performance. It also had a ceiling and was less robust than the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. While aircrews tended to prefer the B-17, General Staff favored the B-24, the B-24 was used extensively in World War II. It served in every branch of the American armed forces, as well as several Allied air forces and navies, along with the B-17, the B-24 was the mainstay of the US strategic bombing campaign in the Western European theater. Due to its range, it proved useful in bombing operations in the Pacific, long range anti-submarine Liberators played an instrumental role in closing the Mid-Atlantic Gap in the Battle of the Atlantic. The C-87 transport derivative served as a range, higher capacity counterpart to the Douglas C-47 Skytrain. The B-24 was produced in large numbers. At the end of World War II, the Liberator had been surpassed by more modern types such as the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the type was rapidly phased out of US service, although the PB4Y-2 Privateer derivative carried on in service with the US Navy in the Korean War. Two B-24s, one LB-30B and one Liberator V representing a B-24H, are airworthy as of 2016, the Liberator originated from a United States Army Air Corps request in 1938 for Consolidated to produce the B-17 under license. After company executives including President Reuben Fleet visited the Boeing factory in Seattle, Washington and this new fuselage was intentionally designed around twin bomb bays, each one being the same size and capacity of the B-17 bomb bays. In January 1939, the USAAC, under Specification C-212, formally invited Consolidated to submit a design study for a bomber with longer range, higher speed, the specification was written such that the Model 32 would automatically be the winning design. The program was run under the group, Project A. Although the B-24 did not meet Project A goals, it was a step in that direction, Project A led to the development of the Boeing B-29 and Consolidateds own B-32 and B-36. The B-24 had a shoulder mounted high aspect ratio Davis wing and this wing was highly efficient allowing a relatively high airspeed and long range
25.
RAF Beaulieu
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Royal Air Force Beaulieu or more simply RAF Beaulieu is a former Royal Air Force station in the New Forest, Hampshire, England. It was also known as Beaulieu airfield, Beaulieu aerodrome and USAAF Station AAF408 and it is located next to the village of East Boldre, about 2 miles west of the village of Beaulieu and 5 miles east-northeast of Lymington. During the First World War there was a Royal Flying Corps training airfield, RFC Beaulieu, at East Boldre that was closed in 1919, opened on Saturday 8 August 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and then later United States Army Air Forces. During the war it was used as a bomber and fighter airfield, after the war, it was used for experimental work before it was closed in 1959. Today the remains of the airfield are on heathland managed by the Forestry Commission, areas of the old airfield are now designated as a flying area for model aircraft. Beaulieu was known as USAAF Station AAF408 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, from 1 March 1944 Beaulieu airfield was made available for USAAF Ninth Air Force use. With the imminent arrival of more bomber groups in Essex the 365th Fighter Group was transferred from RAF Gosfield on the 5 and 6 March 1944. The 365th Group began its move to Europe on 21 June 1944, between 1 and 21 July the Martin B-26 Marauders of the 323rd Bombardment Group arrived from RAF Earls Colne. The AFEE was involved in work with glider towing and parachute drops. On 14 September 1950, AFEE was disbanded, and most of its equipment and personnel were transferred to the Aeroplane, helicopter training functions were transferred to RAF Andover. Beaulieu airfield was then without any flying units, placed under Care and Maintenance status, on 1 April 1953 control passed once again to the United States Air Force, and the facility was upgraded, but in the event no further flying units arrived. With the facility released from control, it once again became part of the New Forest Crown lands managed by the Forestry Commission. A small section of the end of the 27/09 main runway near the Lymington road is still concreted and used as a runway, pit. The connecting length of the perimeter road is used as a cycle track. Small parts of the airfield are now covered with conifers. By means of permit to fly BMFA insurance is required, model aircraft are flown on a basis at this site. There are separate flying areas set aside for radio controlled flight, flyers are required to adhere to the Beaulieu Model Flying Committee rules and to those of the Forestry Commission. List of former Royal Air Force stations This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, dorr, Robert F. and Thomas D. Jones
26.
Hampshire
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Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, the capital city of England. The larger South Hampshire metropolitan area has a population of 1,547,000, Hampshire is notable for housing the birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force. It is bordered by Dorset to the west, Wiltshire to the north-west, Berkshire to the north, Surrey to the north-east, the southern boundary is the coastline of the English Channel and the Solent, facing the Isle of Wight. At its greatest size in 1890, Hampshire was the fifth largest county in England and it now has an overall area of 3,700 square kilometres, and measures about 86 kilometres east–west and 76 kilometres north–south. Hampshires tourist attractions include many seaside resorts and two parks, the New Forest and the South Downs. Hampshire has a maritime history and two of Europes largest ports, Portsmouth and Southampton, lie on its coast. The county is famed as home of writers Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, Hampshire takes its name from the settlement that is now the city of Southampton. Southampton was known in Old English as Hamtun, roughly meaning village-town, the old name was recorded in the Domesday book as Hantescire, and it is from this spelling that the modern abbreviation Hants derives. From 1889 until 1959, the county was named the County of Southampton and has also been known as Southamptonshire. The region is believed to have continuously occupied since the end of the last Ice Age about 12,000 BCE. At this time Britain was still attached to the European continent and was covered with deciduous woodland. The first inhabitants came overland from Europe, these were anatomically and behaviourally modern humans, notable sites from this period include Bouldnor Cliff. Agriculture had arrived in southern Britain by 4000 BCE, and with it a neolithic culture, some deforestation took place at that time, although it was during the Bronze Age, beginning in 2200 BCE, that this became more widespread and systematic. Hampshire has few monuments to show from early periods, although nearby Stonehenge was built in several phases at some time between 3100 BCE and 2200 BCE. It is maintained that by this period the people of Britain predominantly spoke a Celtic language, hillforts largely declined in importance in the second half of the second century BCE, with many being abandoned. Julius Caesar invaded southeastern England briefly in 55 and again in 54 BCE, notable sites from this period include Hengistbury Head, which was a major port. There is a Museum of the Iron Age in Andover, the Romans invaded Britain again in 43 CE, and Hampshire was incorporated into the Roman province of Britannia very quickly
27.
Martin B-26 Marauder
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The Martin B-26 Marauder was a World War II twin-engined medium bomber built by the Glenn L. Martin Company from 1941 to 1945. First used in the Pacific Theater in early 1942, it was used in the Mediterranean Theater. After entering service with the US Army, the received the reputation of a Widowmaker due to the early models high accident rate during takeoffs. The Marauder had to be flown at exact airspeeds, particularly on final runway approach, the B-26 became a safer aircraft once crews were re-trained, and after aerodynamics modifications. After aerodynamic and design changes, the aircraft distinguished itself as the chief bombardment weapon on the Western Front according to a United States Army Air Forces dispatch from 1946, the Marauder ended World War II with the lowest loss rate of any USAAF bomber. A total of 5,288 were produced between February 1941 and March 1945,522 of these were flown by the Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force. By the time the United States Air Force was created as an independent service separate from the Army in 1947, the Douglas A-26 Invader then assumed the B-26 designation — before officially returning to the earlier A for Attack designation in May 1966. On 5 July 1939, the Glenn L. Martin Company submitted its design, produced by a led by Peyton M. Magruder, to meet the requirement. Martins design was evaluated as superior to the proposals and was awarded a contract for 201 aircraft. The B-26 went from concept to an operational bomber in approximately two years. Additional orders for a further 930 B-26s followed in September 1940, the B-26 was a shoulder-winged monoplane of all-metal construction, fitted with a tricycle landing gear. A gunner manned a turret armed with two.50 in machine guns, while an additional.30 in machine gun was fitted in the tail. The aircraft was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engines in nacelles slung under the wing, driving four-bladed propellers, the engines were manufactured at the Ford Dearborn Engine plant in Dearborn, Michigan, USA. The first B-26, with Martin test pilot William K, ken Ebel at the controls, flew on 25 November 1940 and was effectively the prototype. Deliveries to the US Army Air Corps began in February 1941 with the second aircraft, in March 1941, the Army Air Corps started Accelerated Service Testing of the B-26 at Patterson Field, Ohio. At least two of the earliest B-26s suffered hard landings and damage to the landing gear, engine mounts, propellers. The type was grounded briefly in April 1941 to investigate the landing difficulties, two causes were found, insufficient landing speed and improper weight distribution. The latter was due to the lack of a dorsal turret, some of the very earliest B-26s suffered collapses of the nose landing gear
28.
397th Bombardment Group
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It was originally organized as the 397th Bombardment Group, a World War II United States Army Air Forces combat organization. It deployed to Western Europe with Ninth Air Force as a bombardment unit equipped with Martin B-26 Marauders. It returned to the United States during December 1945, being inactivated on 6 January 1946, the 397th Bombardment Wing was organized in 1963 as a component organization of Strategic Air Commands deterrent force during the Cold War. It was inactivated when Dow closed, in early 1984 the group and wing were consolidated into a single unit, but have not been active since. Media related to 397th Bombardment Group at Wikimedia Commons Constituted as 397th Bombardment Group on 20 March 1943, moved to RAF Gosfield England, March–April 1944, and assigned to Ninth Air Force, however. No sooner had they arrived than they were moved on to RAF Rivenhall, the groups identification marking was a yellow diagonal band across both sides of the vertical tailplane. Over the next few days, more than 60 bare metal B-26s were to be seen on the Rivenhall hardstands, although fresh from the training grounds in south-eastern United States, and having only reached the UK early in April. The 347th undertook its first combat mission on 20 April, an attack on a Pas de Calais V-1 site, during its tenure of Rivenhall the 397th undertook 56 bombing missions,32 of them attacks on bridges. Other targets were enemy airfields, rail junctions, fuel and ammunition stores, V-weapon sites and various installations in France. During these missions a total of 16 B-26s were missing in action, three Marauders were lost during the months stay. On the continent, the 397th struck enemy positions at St Malo and Brest and bombed targets in the Rouen area as Allied armies swept across the Seine, the group began flying missions into Germany in September, attacking such targets as bridges, defended areas, and storage depots. The group continued to support the Allied drive into Germany until April 1945, being stationed at Venlo and it returned to the United States during December 1945 – January 1946, being inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey on 6 January 1946. Starting in 1960, one third of the aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute alert, fully fueled. This was increased to half the aircraft in 1962. On 1 April 1961, the wing was transferred to the control of the 6th Air Division, as a result, the 4038th SW was replaced by the 397th Bombardment Wing, Heavy, which assumed its mission, personnel, and equipment on 1 February 1963. In the same way the 596th Bombardment Squadron, one of the units World War II historical bomb squadrons, the 860th Medical Group, 57th Munitions Maintenance Squadron and the two air refueling squadrons were reassigned to the 397th. Component support units were replaced by units with numerical designation of the newly established wing, under the Dual Deputate organization, all flying and maintenance squadrons were directly assigned to the wing, so no operational group element was activated. Therefore, the history, lineage and honors of the 397th Bombardment Group were temporarily bestowed upon the newly established wing upon activation
29.
Hunter Army Airfield
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Hunter Army Airfield, located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia. Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet long, NASA identified Hunter as an alternate landing site for the Space Shuttle orbiters. Currently, Hunter Army Airfield has approximately 5,000 soldiers, airmen and it is home of the aviation units of the 3rd Infantry Division headquartered at Fort Stewart. There are also a number of units assigned to Hunter as well. In 1929, the General Aviation Committee of the Savannah City Council recommended that the 730 acre Belmont Tract, lewis, be accepted by the Council as the future site of the Savannah Municipal Airport. The cost of the land was $35,000, by September 1929, the runway and several buildings were ready and the city officially opened the new facility, known as Savannah Municipal Airport. The airport was named Hunter Municipal Airfield during Savannah Aviation Week in May 1940, in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Frank O’Driscoll Hunter, a native of Savannah, on 30 August 1940, the United States Army Air Corps received approval to build a base at Hunter Municipal Airfield. Official dedication of the airfield as Savannah Army Air Base took place 19 February 1941, the Army Air Corps assigned Savannah AAB initially to the Southeast Air District, III Air Support Command. The 27th Bombardment Group, equipped with Douglas B-18 Bolo medium bomber aircraft was the first assigned unit to the new airfield, the 27th was reassigned to the field from Barksdale Field, Louisiana. The group consisted of the 15th, 16th and 17th Bombardment Squadrons, in 1941, the group was reequipped with Douglas A-24 Banshee Dive Bombers, and on 21 October 1941 the group was ordered to the Philippine Islands in response to the growing crisis in the Pacific. The unit was reequipped with A-20 Havocs, remanned and retrained at Hunter and it was then deployed for combat with Twelfth Air Force in North Africa in July 1942. Throughout 1942, light bomber and dive bomber groups received training at Savannah AAB before being deployed to the combat zones overseas. In June 1946, the airfield was returned to the City of Savannah, from 1946 to 1949, many of its buildings were leased to industrial plants. Some of the buildings were used as apartment houses, and an orphanage was located in the former commanding officer’s quarters, the University of Georgia established an extension campus on part of the old base, as well. On 1 March 1949, Chatham Air Force Base, located eight miles northwest of Savannah, was reopened by the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command, the 2d Bombardment Group was reassigned from Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona to Chatham, with B-50s. The limited facilities at Chatham made the base unfit for permanent use, plans were made to close the base and move the B-50s to more suitable facilities. Rather than see the Air Force move elsewhere, Savannah offered to exchange airfields with the government along with 3,500 acres of additional land around Hunter for future base expansions. This arrangement was agreed upon and on 29 September 1950, the 2d Bomb Group moved to the base, reopened as Hunter Air Force Base and Chatham was turned over to the City of Savannah
30.
Georgia (U.S. state)
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Georgia is a state in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1733, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies, named after King George II of Great Britain, Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2,1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 19,1861 and it was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15,1870. Georgia is the 24th largest and the 8th most populous of the 50 United States, from 2007 to 2008,14 of Georgias counties ranked among the nations 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas. Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South, Atlanta is the states capital, its most populous city and has been named a global city. Georgia is bordered to the south by Florida, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina, to the west by Alabama, the states northern part is in the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of the Appalachian Mountains system. Georgias highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4,784 feet above sea level, Georgia is the largest state entirely east of the Mississippi River in land area. Before settlement by Europeans, Georgia was inhabited by the mound building cultures, the British colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on February 12,1733. The colony was administered by the Trustees for the Establishment of the Colony of Georgia in America under a charter issued by King George II. The Trustees implemented a plan for the colonys settlement, known as the Oglethorpe Plan. In 1742 the colony was invaded by the Spanish during the War of Jenkins Ear, in 1752, after the government failed to renew subsidies that had helped support the colony, the Trustees turned over control to the crown. Georgia became a colony, with a governor appointed by the king. The Province of Georgia was one of the Thirteen Colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution by signing the 1776 Declaration of Independence, the State of Georgias first constitution was ratified in February 1777. Georgia was the 10th state to ratify the Articles of Confederation on July 24,1778, in 1829, gold was discovered in the North Georgia mountains, which led to the Georgia Gold Rush and an established federal mint in Dahlonega, which continued its operation until 1861. The subsequent influx of white settlers put pressure on the government to land from the Cherokee Nation. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law, sending many eastern Native American nations to reservations in present-day Oklahoma, including all of Georgias tribes. Despite the Supreme Courts ruling in Worcester v. Georgia that ruled U. S. states were not permitted to redraw the Indian boundaries, President Jackson and the state of Georgia ignored the ruling. In 1838, his successor, Martin Van Buren, dispatched troops to gather the Cherokee
31.
Africa
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Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
32.
RAF Rivenhall
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Royal Air Force Rivenhall or more simply RAF Rivenhall is a former Royal Air Force station located in Essex, England. During the war, it was used primarily as an airfield with various fighter and bomber units. After the war, it was closed in 1946 and kept in reserve until 1956, today, the remains of the airfield are located on private property with the northern half being turned into a quarry. Rivenhall was known as USAAF Station AAF-168 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war and its USAAF Station Code was RL. On 22 January 1944, a squadron of the 363d Fighter Group arrived from RAF Keevil where it had been awaiting equipment, the group had been selected as the third in the European Theatre to be equipped with the new North American P-51B Mustang. The actual movement of all elements had begun two days previously, on the day following the departure of the 363d, the first Martin B-26 Marauders of the 397th Bombardment Group arrived from RAF Gosfield. Upon its release from military use, in June 1956, Marconi leased part of the airfield, today, the northern half of the former airfield has been turned into a quarry, with the vast majority of the land in the northwest of the airfield being excavated. The perimeter track of the airfield has been reduced to a single track agricultural road, however, some of the loop hardstands still remain in the southwestern quadrant of the field. All three runways either have been quarried, or substantially reduced in width, with agriculture fields taking over the areas of the former airfield. A very small portion of the 28 end of the runway still exists at full width. One T-2 hangar remains, along with a scattering of buildings, an automobile salvage yard has taken over some of the hardstands in the east end of the airfield, where once C-47s and gliders were stored. As of 2013, only one of the two T-2 hangars remain, with demolition claiming the other remaining buildings. 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, uSAAS-USAAC-USAAF-USAF Aircraft Serial Numbers—1908 to present Rivenhall - A History of an Essex Airfield Rivenhall Airfield Pictures 2006
33.
363d Expeditionary Operations Group
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The 363d Expeditionary Operations Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 363d Air Expeditionary Wing, stationed at Prince Sultan AB and it was inactivated on 24 August 2003. The Group has its origins in the 363d Fighter Group, activated on 1 August 1943 at Hamilton Field, initially a IX Fighter Command fighter group, the unit was credited with 41 victories but lost 43 of its own aircraft in the process. The 363d TRG was the eyes of General George S. Pattons Third Army during its advance through France, the 363d Training Group has its origins as the 363d Fighter Group, being activated on 1 August 1943 at Hamilton AAFld, California. The original fighter squadrons trained with Bell P-39 Airacobras at Hamilton and other airfields in California, the group moved to England in December 1943 for duty with the Ninth Air Force. At RAF Keevil, the group was re-equipped with North American P-51 Mustang in January 1944, Squadron designations were changed to 160th, 161st and 162d Fighter Squadrons and assigned Fuselage Codes. However, a number of Mustangs were lost, albeit mostly to ground fire. During operations from the United Kingdom, the group was credited with 41 victories, the 380th, 381st and 382nd squadrons were redesignated as the 160th, 161st and 162nd Reconnaissance Squadrons respectively. It received two Belgian citations for reconnaissance activities, including the support of the assault on the Siegfried Line. The 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group was reactivated on 29 July 1946 at Brooks Army Air Field, equipped initially with two squadrons flying Lockheed FP-80A Shooting Stars for daylight and Douglas FA-26C Invaders for night reconnaissance. In June 1948, the FP-80A was redesignated the RF-80A, the FA/RB-26C was a B-26 with all guns removed and cameras installed throughout the aircraft. Additionally, aircraft intended for night reconnaissance were equipped with flash bombs. Some aircraft were modified for electronic reconnaissance with the installation of radar. The FP/RF-80A was an F-80A, with a longer and deeper nose to house cameras in place of the guns in the nose of the aircraft, after the end of the Korean War, the RF-80As were partially brought up to F-80C standards. These RF-80Cs had improved camera installations in a nose of modified contour The group was placed under the newly activated 363d Reconnaissance Wing on 15 August 1947 and it was reassigned to Langley Army Air Field, Virginia in December 1947 by the newly established USAF. It was redesignated the 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing on 27 August 1948, for budgetary reasons unit was inactivated on 26 April 1949, however it was again activated on 1 September 1950 at Langley. On 1 April 1951, the 363d TRG was transferred to Shaw AFB, the groups mission was to fly photographic, electronic and electronic intelligence missions to support both air and ground operations by American or Allied ground forces. In 1954, the RF-84F Thunderflash was assigned to the 363d TRG, the RF-84F was the photographic reconnaissance version of the F-84F Thunderstreak
34.
410th Air Expeditionary Wing
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The United States Air Forces 410th Air Expeditionary Wing is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command It may be activated or inactivated at any time. The unit was known to be active in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the wing began as the 410th Bombardment Group, a Douglas A-20 Havoc light bombardment group assigned to Ninth Air Force in Western Europe. The unit helped provide teeth to the IX Bomber Command bombing efforts and it earned the title of the worlds best bomb unit for combat accuracy and was the first unit trained in both day and night tactics. It returned to the United States after the end of the war in Europe, the groups heritage was continued in 1963 when the 410th Bombardment Wing was activated as a component of Strategic Air Commands deterrent force during the Cold War, as a strategic bombardment wing. It was inactivated with the closure of K. I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan in the first round of Base Realignment and Closure reductions in September 1995. Media related to 410th Bombardment Group at Wikimedia Commons The wing was activated as the 410th Bombardment Group and it moved to England, March— April 1944, and was assigned to Ninth Air Force. It supported the D-Day invasion in June by bombing gun positions and it also assisted ground forces at Caen and St Lo in July and at Brest in August and September by attacking bridges, vehicles, fuel and ammunition dumps, and rail lines. It participated in the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944—January 1945, by pounding marshalling yards, railheads, bridges and it flew several night missions in February 1945, using B-26s as flare planes, an A-26 for target marking, and A-20s to bomb the objectives. Continued to fly support and interdictory missions, aiding the drive across the Rhine and into Germany, the group converted to Douglas A-26 Invader aircraft, but the war ended before the group was ready to fly them in combat. The group returned to the US, June— August 1945, where it was inactivated on 7 November 1945, the origins of the 410th Air Expeditionary Wing as a wing begin on 1 August 1958 when Strategic Air Command established the 4042d Strategic Wing at K. I. The wing had been assigned to the 40th Air Division since 1 July 1959. starting in 1960, one third of the wings aircraft were maintained on fifteen-minute alert, fully fueled and ready for combat to reduce vulnerability to a Soviet missile strike. This was increased to half the aircraft in 1962. The 4042d continued this alert commitment through the Cold War, SAC Strategic Wings could not carry a permanent history or lineage and SAC looked for a way to make its Strategic Wings permanent. The 4042d was replaced by the newly constituted 416th Bombardment Wing on 1 February 1963, the 526th BS was replaced by the 644th Bombardment Squadron, one of the units World War II historical bombardment squadrons. The 46th Air Refueling Squadron and 69th Munitions Maintenance Squadron transferred to the 410th, Maintenance and security squadrons were replaced by ones with the designation of the newly established wing. Each of the new units assumed the personnel, equipment, under the Dual Deputate organization, all were directly assigned to the wing, no operational or maintenance group was activated. The history, lineage and honors of the 410th Bombardment Group were temporarily bestowed upon the newly established wing upon activation, the 410th BW continued to conduct strategic bombardment training and air refueling operations to meet operational commitments of Strategic Air Command. From 1964 to 1975, the wing supported combat operations over Vietnam by rotating B-52 and KC-135 flight crews to Guam, the 410th was reassigned directly to Eighth Air Force on 8 June 1988 and redesignated the 410th Wing on 1 September 1991 when SAC implemented the Objective Wing concept
35.
RAF Birch
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Royal Air Force Birch or more simply RAF Birch is a former Royal Air Force station in Essex, England. The airfield is located 2 mi northeast of Tiptree, about 43 mi northeast of London Opened in 1942 it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces, during the war, it was used primarily as a reserve transport airfield. It was closed after the war, in late 1945, today, the remains of the airfield are located on private property and used as agricultural fields. Birch was known as USAAF Station AAF-149 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war and its USAAF Station Code was BR. With the facility released from control, the airfield was returned to agricultural use. Today, most of the areas have been removed for hardcore, leaving single tracked farm roads along the main runway, one secondary. Blind Lane now runs along the other secondary its original course having been taken when building the airfield, some hardstanding is also used by Essex Council for garden waste composting, the main site being accessed via the main runway. A few loop hardstands remain intact off the remains of the perimeter track along the north side of the airfield. List of former Royal Air Force stations This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http, airfields of the Eighth, Then and Now. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-09-6 Freeman, Roger A, the Mighty Eighth The Colour Record. Air Force Combat Units Of World War II, maxwell AFB, Alabama, Office of Air Force History. Photographs of RAF Birch from the Geograph British Isles project
36.
Douglas A-20 Havoc
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The Douglas A-20 Havoc was an American attack, light bomber, and intruder aircraft of World War II. It served with several Allied air forces, principally the United States Army Air Forces, the Soviet Air Forces, Soviet Naval Aviation, Soviet units received more than one in three of the DB-7s ultimately built. It was also used by the air forces of Australia, South Africa, France, and the Netherlands during the war, and by Brazil afterwards. In British Commonwealth air forces, bomber/attack variants of the DB-7 were usually known by the service name Boston, an exception to this was the Royal Australian Air Force, which referred to all variants of the DB-7 by the name Boston. The USAAF referred to night fighter variants as P-70 and it was estimated that it could carry a 1,000 lb bomb load at 250 mph. Reports of aircraft performance from the Spanish Civil War indicated that this design would be seriously underpowered, in the autumn of the same year, the United States Army Air Corps issued its own specification for an attack aircraft. The Douglas team, now headed by Heinemann, took the Model 7A design, upgraded with 1,100 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines and it faced competition from the North American NA-40, Stearman X-100, and Martin 167F. The Model 7B was maneuverable and fast, but did not attract any US orders, the model did, however, attract the attention of a French Purchasing Commission visiting the United States. The French discreetly participated in the trials, so as not to attract criticism from American isolationists. The secret was revealed when the Model 7B crashed on 23 January while demonstrating single-engine performance, the French were still impressed enough to order 100 production aircraft, with the order increased to 270 when the war began. Sixteen of those had been ordered by Belgium for its Aviation Militaire, in a report to the British Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at RAF Boscombe Down, test pilots summed it up as, has no vices and is very easy to take off and land. The aeroplane represents a definite advantage in the design of flying controls, extremely pleasant to fly and manoeuvre. Ex-pilots often consider it their favorite aircraft of the war due to the ability to toss it around like a fighter, the Douglas bomber/night fighter was extremely adaptable and found a role in every combat theater of the war, and excelled as a true pilots aeroplane. When DB-7 series production ended on 20 September 1944, a total of 7,098 had been built by Douglas. Douglas redesigned its Santa Monica plant to create a production line to produce A-20 Havocs. The assembly line was over a long, but by looping back and forth. Man-hours were reduced by 50% for some operations, the French order called for substantial modifications, resulting in the DB-7 variant. It had a narrower, deeper fuselage,1,000 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-SC3-G radials, French-built guns, midway through the delivery phase, engines were switched to 1,100 hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3C4-G
37.
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
38.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
39.
Myrtle Beach Air Force Base
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Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. On October 16,1939, Myrtle Beach Town Council resolved that the community is in dire need of a municipal airport. The town agreed to purchase 135 acres for $35 per acre from Myrtle Beach Farms, Inc. Harrelson, a supporter of the project. The Army Air Corps took over the airport in June 1940, for a short time it was used by 3d Observation Sq. 105th Observation Sq and 112th Observation Sq used the site during the next year. In September 1941 it was Distribution Point 1, Morris Field, on 8 November 1943, the 5000-acre base became Myrtle Beach Army Air Field. Units included 351st AAF, 136th AAF, and 317th AAF Air Base Unit, after the war, uses of the base included recruiting and support activities. The site was deactivated and returned to the city and became Myrtle Beach Municipal Airport 1 November 1947, the city leased part of the base, and Aerovox, Piedmont Airlines and a turkey farm also used land on the base. The city donated its airport and the United States Air Force took over 1 June 1954, many of the older buildings were torn down as the base modernized. The first unit in 1955 was the 727th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, other units were the 4434th Air Base Squadron, the 455th Fighter Day Group, and the 113th Tactical Fighter Wing, Det 1, 728th Tactical Control Squadron. From 1958 to 1993 the base was home to the 354th Fighter Day Wing/Tactical Fighter Wing, an agreement to use the base jointly for civilian and military operation began 19 July 1975, with Horry County Jetport using the northeast part of the base. The city of Myrtle Beach annexed the base 20 April 1977, in 1991, the announcement came that Myrtle Beach Air Force Base would close. The Air Force chose to phase out the A-10, which led to the closing, but the Army wanted the A-10 to continue flying. The base closed 31 March 1993, mcCullough believed the earlier closing gave the base the best opportunity for reuse than would have been possible had the closing occurred later, during a recession. Retired Air Force colonel Buddy Styers headed the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base Redevelopment Authority starting in August 1995, for the first several years, the Myrtle Beach area received little help from the economic development conveyance program intended to help communities struggling after bases closed. Myrtle Beach was viewed as a prosperous tourist area, a Wall Street Journal article and a new vision for tourism-related development from Burroughs & Chapin helped the area replace the jobs lost. With the state providing revenue from taxes, and later a portion of taxes paid by federal employees at bases in the state. Later, the government changed the rules for helping communities affected by base closings. The state legislature made it possible to issue $41 million in bonds using the base land as a tax increment financing district
40.
South Carolina
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South Carolina /ˌsaʊθ kærəˈlaɪnə/ is a state in the southeastern region of the United States. The state is bordered to the north by North Carolina, to the south and west by Georgia across the Savannah River, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U. S. Constitution, doing so on May 23,1788. South Carolina became the first state to vote to secede from the Union on December 20,1860, after the American Civil War, it was readmitted into the United States on June 25,1868. South Carolina is the 40th most extensive and the 23rd most populous U. S. state and its GDP as of 2013 was $183.6 billion, with an annual growth rate of 3. 13%. The capital and largest city is Columbia with a 2013 population of 133,358, South Carolina is named in honor of King Charles I of England, under whose reign the English colony was first formed, with Carolus being Latin for Charles. There is evidence of activity in the area about 12000 years ago. Along the Savannah River were the Apalachee, Yuchi, and the Yamasee, further west were the Cherokee, and along the Catawba River, the Catawba. These tribes were village-dwellers, relying on agriculture as their food source. The Cherokee lived in wattle and daub houses made with wood and clay, about a dozen separate small tribes summered on the coast harvesting oysters and fish, and cultivating corn, peas and beans. Travelling inland as much as 50 miles mostly by canoe, they wintered on the plain, hunting deer and gathering nuts. The names of these survive in place names like Edisto Island, Kiawah Island. The Spanish were the first Europeans in the area, in 1521, founding San Miguel de Gualdape, established with 500 settlers, it was abandoned within a year by 150 survivors. In 1562 French settlers established a settlement at what is now the Charlesfort-Santa Elena archaeological site on Parris Island, three years later the Spanish built a fort on the same site, but withdrew following hostilities with the English navy. In 1629, King Charles I of England established the Province of Carolina an area covering what is now South and North Carolina, Georgia, in the 1670s, English planters from the Barbados established themselves near what is now Charleston. Settlers built rice plantations in the South Carolina Lowcountry, east of the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, settlers came from all over Europe. Plantation labor was done by African slaves who formed the majority of the population by 1720, another cash crop was the Indigo plant, a plant source of blue dye, developed by Eliza Lucas. Meanwhile, in Upstate South Carolina, west of the Fall Line, was settled by farmers and traders. Colonists overthrew the rule, seeing more direct representation
41.
No. 299 Squadron RAF
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No.299 Squadron was a Royal Air Force squadron during the Second World War and was part of No.38 Group. No.299 Squadron was formed on 4 November 1943 form C flight of 297 Squadron at RAF Stoney Cross and it became operational in April 1944 dropping SOE agents. During the Normandy landing the squadron first delivered paratroopers, and then returned to air-tow 16 Airspeed Horsa gliders across the English Channel, the squadron continued operations with resupply drops until 10 June when it returned to SOE duties. In between the SOE duties the squadron air-towed Horsa gliders for the Arnhem landing, and the Rhine crossing and it was also involved in supply-dropping to resistance forces in Norway until the end of the war. At the end of the Second World War the squadron disbanded at RAF Shepherds Grove, Suffolk on 15 February 1946
42.
MDP Wethersfield
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MDP Wethersfield is a Ministry of Defence facility in Essex, England, located north of the village of Wethersfield, about 6 mi north-west of the town of Braintree. Originally a military air station, the accommodation areas have now been converted to become the headquarters. Formerly known as RAF Wethersfield, it opened in 1944, during World War II, it was used by the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. It was closed in 1946, and was reopened in 1951 as a result of the Cold War. Used until 1970 as a United States Air Force fighter base, it was held as an airfield until 1993. Wethersfield was allocated by the RAF to the United States Army Air Forces Ninth Air Force in August 1942, for security reasons, it was known as USAAF Station AAF-170 rather than its location during the war. The 416th Bombardment Group arrived at Wethersfield from Laurel Army Airfield, Mississippi, on 1 February 1944, soon after the Americans departed for France, Wethersfield was returned to RAF control, becoming the home for 196 and 299 Squadrons,38 Group, RAF Bomber Command. During the late 1940s the base was used as a camping ground for Chipperfields Circus. Elephants were housed in the hangars and the huts became homes for other circus animals. In 1951, as a result of the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union, work on upgrading the facilities at Wethersfield commenced that same year. The United States was rapidly expanding its air force, increasing the number of wings from 48 in 1950 to 95 by June 1952. The 20th Fighter-Bomber Wing was transferred from Langley AFB in Virginia, the transfer was intended to address the defense problem posed by Soviet conventional superiority in Western Europe. The 20th FBW consisted of three squadrons, the 55th, 77th, and 79th Fighter-Bomber Squadrons, flying the F-84G Thunderjets. The F-84Gs were specially equipped to carry nuclear bombs. Due to restricted space at Wethersfield, the 79th Squadron was initially stationed at RAF Bentwaters from 6 June 1952, then at RAF Woodbridge,3 mi southeast of Bentwaters, from 1 October 1954. Woodbridge was operated as a detachment of the 20th FBW until 8 July 1958, the 79th TFS remained at the base under the control of the 20th TFW until 1970. In June 1955 the 20th FBW started receiving the F-84F Thunderstreak in addition to its F-84Ds, the F-84G was phased out by June 1955, with the aircraft being transferred to Allied nations in Europe and the Middle East. The 20th flew the F-84F for about two years, when on 16 June 1957, the conversion to the North American F-100D, the F-100 remained the primary aircraft at RAF Wethersfield until 1970
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Short Stirling
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The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force, the Stirling was designed during the late 1930s by Short Brothers to conform with the requirements laid out in Air Ministry Specification B. 12/36. When the preferred Type 317 had to be abandoned, the S.29, during early 1941, the Stirling entered active squadron service. The Sterling had a brief operational career as a bomber before being relegated to second line duties from late 1943. A handful of ex-military Stirlings were rebuilt and saw continued use on the civil market, in the 1930s, the Royal Air Force was interested primarily in twin-engine bombers. These designs put limited demands on engine production and maintenance, both of which were stretched with the introduction of so many new types into service. Power limitations were so serious that the British invested heavily in the development of engines in the 2,000 horsepower class in order to improve performance. During the late 1930s, none of these were ready for production, accordingly, in 1936, the RAF also decided to investigate the feasibility of the four-engined bomber. Amongst the several requirements specified, the load was to be a maximum of 14,000 lb carried to a range of 2,000 miles or a lesser payload of 8,000 lb to 3,000 miles. It was to have a crew of six and was to have a normal weight of 48, 000lb, while a maximum overload weight of 65. The aircraft would have to be capable of cruising at speeds of 230 mph or greater while flying at 15,000 ft, while possessing three individual gun turrets for self-defence. Additionally, the aircraft should also be able to be used as a troop transport for 24 soldiers. The concept was that the aircraft would fly troops to far corners of the British Empire, to help with this task as well as ease production, it needed to be able to be broken down into parts, for transport by train. Various companies responded to B. 12/36, including Supermarine and Armstrong Whitworth, Shorts were producing several four-engined flying boat designs of the required size and created their S.29 proposal by removing the lower deck and boat hull of the S.25 Sunderland. As originally designed, the S.29 was considered to be capable of favourable high-altitude performance, in October 1936, the S.29 was low down on the short list of designs considered and the Supermarine Type 317 was ordered in prototype form in January 1937. However it was decided that a design to Supermarine was needed for insurance. Shorts accepted this large amount of redesign work, the project had added importance due to the death of Supermarines designer, Reginald Mitchell, which had generated doubt within the Air Ministry. The S.29 used the Sunderlands 114 ft wing and it had to be reduced to less than 100 ft, in order to get the needed lift from a shorter span and excess weight, the redesigned wing was thickened and reshaped
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RAF Shepherds Grove
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RAF Shepherds Grove is a former Royal Air Force station located 9 miles southwest of Diss, Norfolk and 9.9 miles northeast of Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England. The airfield was built for the United States Army Air Forces Eighth Air Force during the Second World War, however the facility was not used by the USAAF and was opened by No.3 Group RAF on 3 April 1944. The name came from a small copse nearby and the airfield is close to Walsham le Willows in Suffolk and it was occupied by No.196 Squadron RAF in January 1945 as an airfield for Operation Varsity, supporting the Rhine crossing. After the Second World War North American F-86A Sabres of the United States Air Force 116th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron were stationed there in August 1951, the 116th FIS was a mobilized Air National Guard squadron from Washington State assigned to the newly activated 81st Fighter-Bomber Wing. In September the 91st and 92nd FIS arrived at Shepherds Grove from Moses Lake AFB, the 81st FBW however, did not stay at Shepherds Grove long, moving Wing Headquarters to RAF Bentwaters in late September 1951, and relocating the 91st FIS with them. The 116th FIS returned to control in November 1952 and was replaced by the 78th FIS. With the move of the 81st FBW headquarters to Bentwaters, the 7519th Air Base Squadron was the administrative USAFE host unit, in mid-1953, the 78th and 92nd FIS upgraded their F-86A models to F-86Fs, in preparation for the arrival of the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak in April 1954. With the arrival of the F-84s, the names were changed to Fighter-Bomber squadron. Markings of the 78th FIS F-84s were a three-beamed, black-trimmed red sunburst design, the 92nd covered almost the entire vertical stabilizer above the horizontal stabilizer with yellow, with a diagonal line. In March 1955 the 92nd FIS was reassigned to the 406th Fighter-Interceptor Wing at RAF Manston and re-equipped with F-86Ds, in September 1955, the 87th was re-designated the 512th FIS. The 78th FIS moved to RAF Sculthorpe in Norfolk, in May 1956, the 78th briefly returned to Shepherds Grove in May 1957 before leaving for good to RAF Woodbridge in December 1958 when the USAF turned Shepherds Grove to the Ministry of Defence. Shepherds Grove was also used as a facility for nuclear weapons in the 1950s and 1960s. The nuclear store dates from February 1957, the rectangular area was originally double fenced, and was guarded 24 hours a day. Dogs patrolled between the dusk to dawn and in bad weather when visibility was reduced. T here are two towers, one inside and one outside the surviving perimeter fence, which were manned at all times. There are two igloo type buildings for the part of the bombs, in the case of Shepherds Grove these were first Mk7s. The third igloo building, externally identical to the stores where the main casings were kept on their bomb trolleys, was used for nuclear component storage. This building is only half as long as the main stores
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Operation Varsity
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Operation Varsity was a successful airborne forces operation launched by Allied troops that took place toward the end of World War II. Involving more than 16,000 paratroopers and several aircraft, it was the largest airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day. Varsity was part of Operation Plunder, the Anglo-American-Canadian assault under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to cross the northern Rhine River, the U. S. 17th Airborne Division was to capture the village of Diersfordt and clear the rest of the Diersfordter Wald of any remaining German forces. The two divisions would hold the territory they had captured until relieved by advancing units of 21st Army Group, and then join in the general advance into northern Germany. However, the operation was a success, with both divisions capturing Rhine bridges and securing towns that could have used by Germany to delay the advance of the British ground forces. The two divisions incurred more than 2,000 casualties, but captured about 3,500 German soldiers, the operation was the last large-scale Allied airborne operation of World War II. By March 1945, the Allied armies had advanced into Germany and had reached the River Rhine, Plunder envisioned the British Second Army, under Lieutenant-General Miles C. Ninth Army, under Lieutenant General William Simpson, crossing the Rhine at Rees, Wesel, the division did not participate in Operation Market Garden. It did, however, participate in the Ardennes campaign but had yet to take part in a combat drop, the plan for the operation was therefore altered to accommodate the two remaining airborne divisions, the British 6th and U. S. 17th Airborne Divisions. It was also decided by the commander of the First Allied Airborne Army, General Lewis H. Brereton, supply drops for the airborne forces would also be made as soon as possible to ensure adequate supplies were available to the airborne troops as they fought. By this period of the conflict, the number of German divisions remaining on the Western Front was rapidly declining, both in numbers and quality, a fact in the Allies favour. By the night of 23 March, Montgomery had the equivalent of more than 30 divisions under his command, while the Germans fielded around 10 divisions, all weakened from constant fighting. First Parachute Army had three corps stationed along the river, 2nd Parachute Corps to the north, 86th Corps in the centre, and 63rd Corps in the south. After their retreat to the Rhine both divisions were under-strength and did not number more than 4,000 men each, with 84th Infantry Division supported by only 50 or so medium artillery pieces. The mobile reserves that the Germans did possess consisted of some 150 armoured fighting vehicles under the command of 1st Parachute Army, intelligence also pointed to the possibility of a heavy anti-tank battalion being stationed in the area. The situation of the German defenders, and their ability to any assault effectively, was worsened when the Allies launched a large-scale air attack one week prior to Operation Varsity. The air attack involved more than 10,000 Allied aircraft and concentrated primarily on Luftwaffe airfields and the German transportation system. Operation Plunder began at 9 pm on the evening of 23 March, the airlift consisted of 541 transport aircraft containing airborne troops, and a further 1,050 troop-carriers towing 1,350 gliders
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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
This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency website http://www.afhra.af.mil/.
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