1.
Military of the Falkland Islands
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The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory and, as such, rely on the UK for the guarantee of their security. They are headed by the Commander of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands, the base was opened in 1985, and became fully operational in 1986. The Falkland Islands maintains its own part-time volunteer force, the Falkland Islands Defence Force, the FIDF is now a company-strength light infantry force with a permanent training Warrant Officer seconded from the Royal Marines. The FIDF operates in a number of roles and is integrated into the defence scheme for the islands. The FIDF has been trained by the Royal Navy to operate Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, in addition, an Ice Patrol Ship, HMS Protector, is on station close to Antarctica for six months of the year. The warship and RFA vessel carry out the Atlantic Patrol Task mission, the Type 42 destroyer HMS Edinburgh took over the South Atlantic Patrol Task in October 2006, replacing HMS Southampton. Prior to Southamptons deployment in August 2005, the role was filled by HMS Cardiff, as of February 2010, the on-station warship was the Type 42 destroyer HMS York. In late April 2010, HMS York was relieved by the Type 23 frigate HMS Portland, in August 2010, HMS Portland was relieved by the Type 42 destroyer HMS Gloucester. On 21 April 2011, HMS York arrived at the East Cove Military Port in the Falkland Islands, October 2011 saw the arrival of the Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose, generating a statement from UNASUR. The Type 45 Guided Missile Destroyer HMS Dauntless replaced HMS Montrose as of April 2012, in early August 2013, HMS Richmond was deployed to be the ship for the Royal Navys Atlantic Patrol. HMS Portland was again deployed in January 2014, the Falkland Islands Patrol ship is a River class patrol vessel, which replaced the previous Castle class patrol vessel. In 2007, HMS Clyde relieved HMS Dumbarton Castle and HMS Leeds Castle and it is planned that she will stay permanently in the South Atlantic until 2018. The Royal Navy also has Trafalgar and Astute class nuclear submarines that it can deploy to the area, the threat from submarines to hostile ships was demonstrated during the Falklands War when HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano. The Royal Navys submarines also carry BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of 1,500 miles, the Sun newspaper has speculated that a Swiftsure class attack submarine, HMS Sceptre, was sent to the islands in March 2010. In February 2012, a Trafalgar -class nuclear submarine may have deployed to the Falkland Islands. The British Army maintains a garrison on the Falkland Islands based at Mount Pleasant, the total deployment is about 1,200 personnel made up of a roulement infantry company, an engineer squadron, a signals unit, a logistics group and supporting services. The British Army contributes to the Joint Service Explosive Ordnance Disposal group in the Falkland Islands, providing 33 Engineer Regiment and this has been reduced to a team of 11 personnel. RAF Mount Pleasant was built in 1985 with the capability of accepting large trans-Atlantic aircraft such as the Lockheed TriStar, the TriStar was purchased mainly for the UK-Falklands route, until their entry into service, the UK used leased 747s and 767s
2.
East Falkland
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East Falkland is the largest island of the Falklands in the South Atlantic having an area of 6,605 km2 or 54% of the total area of the Falklands. The island consists of two land masses, the more southerly of which is known as Lafonia, joined by a narrow isthmus that was the scene of the Battle of Goose Green during the Falklands War. The two main centres of population in the Falklands, Stanley and Mount Pleasant, both of which are in the half of East Falkland are home to three quarters of the islands population. East Falkland, which has an area of 6,605 km2, the islands 1,668.7 km coastline has many smaller bays, inlets and headlands. The principal range of hills, the 600 m Wickham Heights runs from east to west, the highest point of the range, is Mount Usborne which has a height of 705 m. The area away from the range consists chiefly of low undulating ground, a mixture of pasture and morass, with many shallow freshwater tarns. Two inlets, Berkeley Sound and Port William, run far into the land at the extremity of the island. In contrast, Lafonia is underlain by Mesozoic rocks, a rock than the Palaeozoic rock to the north. Other scenery includes stone runs, heathland, and bogs, gypsy Cove is noted as a beauty spot. Stanley, the capital of the islands and the seaport is in East Falkland. The islands Christchurch cathedral is also in Stanley, Port Louis, at the head of Berkeley Sound, was once the seat of government. Other settlements include Port Louis, Darwin, Port San Carlos, San Carlos, Salvador, Johnsons Harbour, Fitzroy, Mare Harbour, East Falkland also has two airports with paved runways, Port Stanley Airport and RAF Mount Pleasant. There is a lighthouse at Cape Pembroke near Stanley, East Falkland contains most of the archipelagos few roads. The main industries on the island are fishing, sheep farming, government, some oats are also grown, but due to high humidity and acidic soil, the land is mainly used for grazing. As Stanley is the capital, and East Falkland is the most populous island, many cruise ships now stop there. A large economic role is played by RAF Mount Pleasant. Although these number a few hundred, their role in a population of under two thousand is significant and disproportionate. Smaller industries include horse and cattle farming, and there is recent evidence to suggest possible valuable mineral deposits on the island
3.
Port Stanley
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Stanley is the capital of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2012 census, the town had a population of 2,121, Stanley is represented by five members of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands, currently Jan Cheek, Barry Elsby, Michael Poole, Gavin Short and Mike Summers. Stanley is the shopping centre on the islands and the hub of East Falklands road network. The Falkland Islands Company owns several shops and a hotel, Stanley has four pubs, eleven hotels and guesthouses, three restaurants, a fish and chip shop and the main tourist office. There are three churches, including the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, the southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world, a bomb disposal unit in the town is a legacy of the Falklands War. The town hall serves as a post office, philatelic bureau, law court, the police station also contains the islands only prison, with a capacity of thirteen in the cells. The community centre includes a pool, a sports centre, library. A grass football pitch is located by the community centre and hosts regular games, Stanley Racecourse, located on the west side of Stanley, holds a two-day horse racing meeting every year on 26 and 27 December. The Christmas races have been here for over one hundred years. Stanley Golf Course has an 18-hole course and a club house and it is also located to the west of Stanley. King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is the main hospital, with doctors practice and surgery, radiology department, dental surgery. Several bus and taxi companies operate out of Stanley, Stanley is also home to the Falkland Islands Radio Station, the Stanley office of the British Antarctic Survey, and the office of the weekly Penguin News newspaper. A nursery and garden centre is here, in whose greenhouses some of the islands vegetables are grown. The original capital of the islands was at Port Louis to the north of the present site of Stanley, captains Francis Crozier and James Clark Ross were recruited by Governor Richard Moody in his quest to find a new capital for The Falklands. Both Crozier and Ross were among the Royal Navys most distinguished seafarers and they spent 5 months in the islands with their ships Terror and Erebus. Governor Moody however, decided to move the capital to Port Jackson, Stanley Harbour was considered to have a deeper anchorage for visiting ships. Work on the settlement began in 1843 and it became the capital in July 1845 and it was named after Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time
4.
Falkland Islands
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The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 miles east of South Americas southern Patagonian coast, the archipelago, with an area of 4,700 square miles, comprises East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, the islands capital is Stanley on East Falkland. Controversy exists over the Falklands discovery and subsequent colonisation by Europeans, at various times, the islands have had French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements. Britain reasserted its rule in 1833, although Argentina maintains its claim to the islands, in April 1982, Argentine forces temporarily occupied the islands. British administration was restored two months later at the end of the Falklands War, most Falklanders favour the archipelago remaining a UK overseas territory, but its sovereignty status is part of an ongoing dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The population primarily consists of native-born Falkland Islanders, the majority of British descent, other ethnicities include French, Gibraltarian and Scandinavian. Immigration from the United Kingdom, the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, under the British Nationality Act 1983, Falkland Islanders are British citizens. The islands lie on the boundary of the oceanic and tundra climate zones. They are home to bird populations, although many no longer breed on the main islands because of competition from introduced species. Major economic activities include fishing, tourism and sheep farming, with an emphasis on high-quality wool exports, oil exploration, licensed by the Falkland Islands Government, remains controversial as a result of maritime disputes with Argentina. The Falkland Islands take their name from the Falkland Sound, a strait separating the two main islands. The name Falkland was applied to the channel by John Strong, Strong named the strait in honour of Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland, the Treasurer of the Navy who sponsored their journey. The name Falklands was not applied to the islands until 1765, the term Falklands is a standard abbreviation used to refer to the islands. The Spanish name for the archipelago, Islas Malvinas, derives from the French Îles Malouines — the name given to the islands by French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1764, Bougainville, who founded the islands first settlement, named the area after the port of Saint-Malo. The port, located in the Brittany region of western France, was in turn named after St. Malo, in Spanish, the territory was designated as Islas Malvinas. The nomenclature used by the United Nations for statistical processing purposes is Falkland Islands, although Fuegians from Patagonia may have visited the Falkland Islands in prehistoric times, the islands were uninhabited at the time of their discovery by Europeans. Claims of discovery date back to the 16th century, but no consensus exists on whether these early explorers discovered the Falklands or other islands in the South Atlantic, whether or not the settlements were aware of each others existence is debated by historians
5.
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
6.
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
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The Ministry of Defence is the British government department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by Her Majestys Government and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MoD states that its objectives are to defend the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its interests and to strengthen international peace. The MoD also manages day-to-day running of the forces, contingency planning. As rearmament became a concern during the 1930s, Stanley Baldwin created the position of Minister for Coordination of Defence. Winston Churchill, on forming his government in 1940, created the office of Minister of Defence to exercise control over the Chiefs of Staff Committee. The post was held by the Prime Minister of the day until Clement Attlees government introduced the Ministry of Defence Act of 1946, the new ministry was headed by a Minister of Defence who possessed a seat in the Cabinet. These departments merged in 1964, the functions of the Ministry of Aviation Supply merged into the Ministry of Defence in 1971. The Ministers in the Ministry of Defence are as follows, The Ministers and Chiefs of the Defence Staff are supported by a number of civilian, scientific, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Defence is the senior civil servant at the MoD. His or her role is to ensure the MoD operates effectively as a department of the government, Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Stephen Lovegrove—commencing April 2016 Defence Equipment & Support CEO - Tony Douglas — commencing 2016 Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Vernon C. He is supported by the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Gordon Messenger, Royal Marines. First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Philip Jones, Royal Navy Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Nick Carter, the Surgeon General, represents the Defence Medical Services on the Defence Staff, and is the clinical head of that service. These forces must be capable of representing Britain as lead nation in any coalition operations, the ability, at longer notice, to deploy forces in a large-scale operation while running a concurrent small-scale operation. The MoD has since been regarded as a leader in elaborating the post-Cold War organising concept of defence diplomacy, the UK is establishing air and naval bases in the Persian Gulf, located in the UAE and Bahrain. A presence in Oman is also being considered, the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 included £178 billion investment in new equipment and capabilities. The review set a policy with four primary missions for the Armed Forces, Defend and contribute to the security and resilience of the UK. Contribute to improved understanding of the world through strategic intelligence and the defence network. Reinforce international security and the capacity of our allies, partners. Conduct operations to restore peace and stability, conduct major combat operations if required, including under NATO Article 5
7.
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
8.
No. 1310 Flight RAF
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No.1310 Flight RAF is a flight of the Royal Air Force. No.1310 Flight was first formed at RAF Llandow on 10 April 1944, the flight was disbanded on 21 July 1944 at RAF Bognor, absorbed by 83 Group Support Wing. The next incarnation of 1310 Flight was at RAF Odiham, where the Flight prepared to transfer to British Guiana, in South America, to assist the nascent government of the newly independent state. Its first role with helicopters flying Westland Whirlwind HAR 10s, with three helicopters, three pilots and approximately thirty ground crew, then deployed to Atkinson Field, later 1310 Flt was amalgamated with 1564 Flt to form 78 Sqn at RAF Mount Pleasant. 1310 Flt was re-formed again at Split in Croatia in December 1995 for saw service in Bosnia, flying support for British units in the Implementation Force, most recently it was based at Basra in southern Iraq. It commanded the Chinooks assigned to the British-commanded division based in the area and it was stood down in April 2005 and replaced by 1419 Flt. From 2005/061310 Flight operated Chinooks in Afghanistans Helmand and Kandahar Provinces, the Chinooks role in Afghanistan includes air assault, forward operating base resupply, and casualty evacuation. Three Chinooks were based in Kabul until March 2015 and were replaced by Puma HC. 2s, as of 2016,1310 Flight comprises of 2 Chinooks based back in the Falkland Islands
9.
No. 1312 Flight RAF
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No.1312 Flight is an independent flight of the Royal Air Force, supporting at present the defence of the Falkland Islands. While the UK officially does not foresee any threat to the Falkland Islands and these forces also protect South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Royal Air Force contribution to this deterrent is based at RAF Mount Pleasant, the squadron goes by the motto of Uphold the right while the motto of the Falkland Islands is Desire the right. 1312 Flight operates in support of this force providing aerial refuelling, air transport, search and rescue,1312 Flight was first formed on 19 April 1944 at RAF Llandow. It operated 6 Avro Ansons to collect and deliver aircrew involved in the replacement aircraft. After June 1944 it was involved in transporting wounded serviceman back to England from France until it was disbanded on 21 July 1944. The flight was re-formed on 14 September 1954, at RAF Abingdon, as 1312 Flight operating the Handley Page Hastings and later the Vickers Valetta,1312 Flight re-formed again on the 20 August 1983 at RAF Stanley before moving to the newly opened RAF Mount Pleasant in 1986. The original task was to operate the Lockheed Hercules on air-to-air refueling missions, on 31 August 2013 the VC10 was replaced by a TriStar K1 from 216 Squadron. List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons List of Royal Air Force independent flights Military of the Falkland Islands Notes Bibliography
10.
No. 1435 Flight RAF
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No.1435 Flight is a Typhoon FGR4 unit of the Royal Air Force, based at RAF Mount Pleasant, providing air defence for the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The Flight goes by the motto of Protect the Right while the motto of the Falkland Islands is Desire the Right. During the Second World War, No.1435 Flight was a unit on Malta subsequently raised to squadron status becoming the only RAF flying squadron to be given a four digit number. No.1435 Flight was first formed at Malta as a fighter unit on 4 December 1941. In July 1942, personnel from No.603 Squadron were equipped with the Spitfire V to form the unit and it was assigned to the Balkan Air Force, carrying out operations over Albania and Yugoslavia until the end of the war. It disbanded on 29 April 1945 at Falconara, Italy, in November 1988, when 23 Squadron converted to the Tornado,1435 Flight was revived, equipped with four McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR. 2s. After No.23 Squadrons disbandment at RAF Mount Pleasant, the mission and equipment were transferred to No.1435 Flight, flying the Panavia Tornado F.3 and later the Eurofighter Typhoon. The aircraft are based in the islands, as told by CPO Edwards. While there they provide a 365-day, 24-hour alert, the Flight has maintained its Maltese connections, with its aircraft sporting the Maltese cross. Desperation was added to the three traditional names when Phantoms entered service in the Falklands and the flight was revived in 1988, faith, Hope and Charity fly operationally, with Desperation appropriately in reserve. On their retirement in 1992, one of the Phantoms was placed as the guardian at Mount Pleasant. The Phantoms were replaced by four Tornado F. 3s, the four Tornados remained in active service until they were replaced in their turn by four Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 in September 2009. Although the units new aircraft do not have the names applied. No. 3s FLIGHT1435 Music video made by 1435 Flight personnel on YouTube, uploaded 18 January 2007
11.
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
12.
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
13.
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
14.
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
15.
British Overseas Territories
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The 14 British Overseas Territories are territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom. They are the parts of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain British territories. These territories do not form part of the United Kingdom and, with the exception of Gibraltar, are not part of the European Union, though the Cyprus SBAs are subject to EU law and use the Euro. Most of the territories are internally self-governing, with the UK retaining responsibility for defence. The rest are either uninhabited or have a population of military or scientific personnel. They share the British monarch as head of state, the term British Overseas Territory was introduced by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002, replacing the term British Dependent Territory, introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981. Prior to 1 January 1983, the territories were referred to as British Crown Colonies. With the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Territories retain permanent civilian populations. Permanent residency for the 7,000 or so living in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri. Collectively, the Territories encompass a population of about 250,000 people, the vast majority of this,660,000 square miles, constitutes the British Antarctic Territory. The current minister responsible for the Territories excluding the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas is Baroness Anelay, Minister of State for the Commonwealth, the other three territories are the responsibility of Sir Alan Duncan MP, Minister of State for Europe and the Americas. The first, unofficial, colony was Newfoundland, where English fishermen routinely set up camps in the 16th century. It is now a province of Canada known as Newfoundland and Labrador and it retains strong cultural ties with Britain. English colonisation of North America began officially in 1607 with the settlement of Jamestown, st. Georges town, founded in Bermuda in that year, remains the oldest continuously inhabited British settlement in the New World. Bermuda and Bermudians have played important, sometimes pivotal, but generally underestimated or unacknowledged roles in the shaping of the English and British trans-Atlantic Empires. These include maritime commerce, settlement of the continent and of the West Indies, separate self-governing colonies federated to become Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Rhodesia. These and other large self-governing colonies had become known as Dominions by the 1920s, the Dominions achieved almost full independence with the Statute of Westminster. Through a process of following the Second World War, most of the British colonies in Africa, Asia
16.
Stanley, Falkland Islands
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Stanley is the capital of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland, on a slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2012 census, the town had a population of 2,121, Stanley is represented by five members of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands, currently Jan Cheek, Barry Elsby, Michael Poole, Gavin Short and Mike Summers. Stanley is the shopping centre on the islands and the hub of East Falklands road network. The Falkland Islands Company owns several shops and a hotel, Stanley has four pubs, eleven hotels and guesthouses, three restaurants, a fish and chip shop and the main tourist office. There are three churches, including the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral, the southernmost Anglican cathedral in the world, a bomb disposal unit in the town is a legacy of the Falklands War. The town hall serves as a post office, philatelic bureau, law court, the police station also contains the islands only prison, with a capacity of thirteen in the cells. The community centre includes a pool, a sports centre, library. A grass football pitch is located by the community centre and hosts regular games, Stanley Racecourse, located on the west side of Stanley, holds a two-day horse racing meeting every year on 26 and 27 December. The Christmas races have been here for over one hundred years. Stanley Golf Course has an 18-hole course and a club house and it is also located to the west of Stanley. King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is the main hospital, with doctors practice and surgery, radiology department, dental surgery. Several bus and taxi companies operate out of Stanley, Stanley is also home to the Falkland Islands Radio Station, the Stanley office of the British Antarctic Survey, and the office of the weekly Penguin News newspaper. A nursery and garden centre is here, in whose greenhouses some of the islands vegetables are grown. The original capital of the islands was at Port Louis to the north of the present site of Stanley, captains Francis Crozier and James Clark Ross were recruited by Governor Richard Moody in his quest to find a new capital for The Falklands. Both Crozier and Ross were among the Royal Navys most distinguished seafarers and they spent 5 months in the islands with their ships Terror and Erebus. Governor Moody however, decided to move the capital to Port Jackson, Stanley Harbour was considered to have a deeper anchorage for visiting ships. Work on the settlement began in 1843 and it became the capital in July 1845 and it was named after Lord Stanley, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies at the time
17.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York
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Prince Andrew, Duke of York, KG, GCVO, CD, ADC, is the second son and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of his birth, he was second in the line of succession to succeed his mother, as of 2017 he is sixth in line. He holds the rank of commander and the rank of vice admiral in the Royal Navy, in which he served as an active duty helicopter pilot and instructor. He saw active service during the Falklands War, flying on multiple missions including anti-surface warfare, Exocet missile decoy, in 1986, Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson, the couples marriage, subsequent separation and eventual divorce in 1996 attracted a high level of media coverage. As well as carrying out official engagements, he served as Britains Special Representative for International Trade. Prince Andrew was born in the Belgian Suite of Buckingham Palace on 19 February 1960 and he was baptised in the Palaces Music Room on 8 April 1960 by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher. He is the namesake of his grandfather, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. Prince Andrew was the first child born to a monarch since the birth in 1857 of Queen Victorias youngest child. As with his siblings, Andrew was looked after by a governess. He was sent to Heatherdown School near Ascot in Berkshire, in September 1973, he entered Gordonstoun, in northern Scotland, which his father and elder brother had attended before him. While there, he spent six months—from January to June 1977—participating in a programme to Lakefield College School in Canada. He left Gordonstoun in July two years later with A-Levels in English, history, economics, and political science and he did not go to university but instead entered the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth. The Royal Household announced in November 1978 that Prince Andrew would join the Royal Navy the following year, on 1 September of the same year, Prince Andrew was appointed as a midshipman, and entered Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. During 1980 he also took the Royal Marines All Arms Commando Course, after being awarded his wings, he moved onto more advanced training on the Sea King helicopter, and conducted operational flying training until 1982. He joined carrier-based squadron,820 Naval Air Squadron, serving aboard the aircraft carrier, the Falkland Islands, which are a British overseas territory claimed by Argentina, were invaded by Argentina on 2 April 1982, an event that instigated the Falklands War. Invincible was one of the two aircraft carriers available at the time, and, as such, was to play a major role in the Royal Navy task force assembled to sail south to retake the islands. The Queen, though, insisted that her son be allowed to remain with his ship and he witnessed the Argentinian attack on the SS Atlantic Conveyor. At the cessation of the war, Invincible returned to Portsmouth, the Argentine military government reportedly planned, but did not attempt, to assassinate the prince on Mustique in July 1982
18.
Port Stanley Airport
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Port Stanley Airport is a STOLport in the Falkland Islands, two miles outside the capital, Stanley. The airport is the civilian airport in the islands with a paved runway. However, RAF Mount Pleasant, located to the west of Stanley, functions as the main international airport, because it has a long runway. Port Stanley Airport is operated by the Government of the Falkland Islands, prior to 1972, there was no airport in the Falkland Islands with a paved runway, and all trips to the islands had to be undertaken by boat. In 1973, the United Kingdom signed a Communications Agreement with Argentina to fund an airstrip on the islands, flights took place again from Comodoro Rivadavia, this time with Fokker F-28 twin jet aircraft. This service was maintained until 1982 representing the connection to the islands. At first, these flights landed at an airstrip at Hookers Point at the east end of Port Stanley where the runway was constructed of Pierced Runway Planking. This situation continued until 1978, when a storm tore up large areas of the runway, by this time however a permanent solution was in hand and on 1 May 1979 a new airport was opened at Cape Pembroke by Sir Vivian Fuchs with a 4000-foot paved runway. It immediately became home to FIGAS with its Islanders and Beavers, the Royal Air Force also used the airport for flights to supply and reinforce the British military garrison when necessary. During the Falklands War of 1982, Argentine forces occupied the airport, the Argentine Air Force were unable to place their most advanced fighter jets at the base given the relatively short runway, and the risk of attack by the British. However, several air force FMA IA58 Pucarás with Argentine Navy Aermacchi MB-339 and T-34 Mentor for close air support, the Pucarás were deployed against the British land forces, shooting down a Westland Scout and the Aermacchis against the British Fleet. On May 1,1982, the Royal Air Force bombed the airport in Operation Black Buck, through the conflict, the airport installations were attacked with 237 bombs,1,200 shells by deployed Royal Navy ships and 16 missiles. The 421, 000-lb bombs dropped by the two Black Buck missions left twin strings of craters which are visible on satellite photos of the airport today. These flights continued to bring supplies, weapons, vehicles, and fuel, however, these minefields proved unnecessary when the British opted instead to land at San Carlos on the west coast of East Falkland and attack overland towards Stanley. After the war, the Royal Air Force took over the airport, the Harrier detachment was renamed No.1453 Flight and remained at RAF Stanley to provide standby air defence, in event of excessive crosswinds, until RAF Mount Pleasant was opened in 1985. In addition, long range Hercules transport aircraft of No.1312 Flight, resident at RAF Stanley, provided support for the Phantom fighters. The airport was used by the C130s of the Airbridge from Ascension Island for trooping. In 1985, RAF Mount Pleasant opened and in April 1986 Port Stanley Airport returned to civilian use, the temporary aluminium planking runway extension was removed, bringing the runway down to its present length
19.
Falklands War
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It began on Friday,2 April 1982, when Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands in an attempt to establish the sovereignty it had claimed over them. On 5 April, the British government dispatched a naval force to engage the Argentine Navy. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June 1982, in total,649 Argentine military personnel,255 British military personnel, and three Falkland Islanders died during the hostilities. The conflict was an episode in the protracted confrontation over the territories sovereignty. Argentina asserted that the islands are Argentine territory, and the Argentine government thus characterised its military action as the reclamation of its own territory, the British government regarded the action as an invasion of a territory that had been a Crown colony since 1841. Falkland Islanders, who have inhabited the islands since the early 19th century, are descendants of British settlers. The conflict has had an effect in both countries and has been the subject of various books, articles, films, and songs. Patriotic sentiment ran high in Argentina, but the outcome prompted large protests against the military government. In the United Kingdom, the Conservative Party government, bolstered by the outcome, was re-elected the following year. The cultural and political weight of the conflict has had less effect in Britain than in Argentina, diplomatic relations between the United Kingdom and Argentina were restored in 1989 following a meeting in Madrid, Spain, at which the two governments issued a joint statement. No change in either countrys position regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands was made explicit, in 1994, Argentinas claim to the territories was added to its constitution. In December 1981 there was a change in the Argentine military regime, bringing to office a new junta headed by General Leopoldo Galtieri, Brigadier Basilio Lami Dozo. Anaya was the architect and supporter of a military solution for the long-standing claim over the islands. Such action would also bolster its dwindling legitimacy, the newspaper La Prensa speculated in a step-by-step plan beginning with cutting off supplies to the islands, ending in direct actions late in 1982, if the UN talks were fruitless. The Royal Navy ice patrol vessel HMS Endurance was dispatched from Stanley to South Georgia in response, the Argentine military junta, suspecting that the UK would reinforce its South Atlantic Forces, ordered the invasion of the Falkland Islands to be brought forward to 2 April. Britain was initially taken by surprise by the Argentine attack on the South Atlantic islands, despite repeated warnings by Royal Navy captain Nicholas Barker, on 2 April 1982, Argentine forces mounted amphibious landings off the Falkland Islands. The invasion was met with a defence organised by the Falkland Islands Governor Sir Rex Hunt. Word of the invasion first reached Britain from Argentine sources, a Ministry of Defence operative in London had a short telex conversation with Governor Hunts telex operator, who confirmed that Argentines were on the island and in control
20.
Argentina
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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
21.
RAF Strike Command
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It latterly consisted of two formations - No.1 Group RAF and No.2 Group RAF. The last Commander-in-Chief was Air Chief Marshal Sir Joe French, Strike Command was formed on 30 April 1968 by the merger of Bomber Command and Fighter Command, which became No.1 Group and No.11 Group respectively. Signals Command was absorbed on 1 January 1969, Coastal Command was absorbed on 28 November 1969, in 1975, the Command acquired a NATO title, Commander-in-Chief United Kingdom Air Forces - UKAIR. UKAIR was fell under NATOs Allied Command Europe in Mons in Belgium, reinforcements coming from the continental United States, as well as units transitioning to other European fronts, would have also come under UKAIR. RAF Germany was absorbed as No.2 Group on 1 April 1993, headquarters Strike Command was located at RAF High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire. The Command was divided into a number of Groups, which at first reflected the function of the old Fighter, Bomber, 11/18 Group RAF1 April 1996 –7 January 2000 No.38 Group RAF1 July 1972 –17 November 1983 No. ISBN 1-85260-345-3 Royal Air Force Web Site - Strike Command
22.
Avro Vulcan
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The Avro Vulcan is a jet-powered tailless delta wing high-altitude strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Roe and Company designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B. 35/46, of the three V bombers produced, the Vulcan was considered the most technically advanced and hence the riskiest option. Several scale aircraft, designated Avro 707, were produced to test, the Vulcan B.1 was first delivered to the RAF in 1956, deliveries of the improved Vulcan B.2 started in 1960. The B.2 featured more powerful engines, a larger wing, as a part of the V-force, the Vulcan was the backbone of the United Kingdoms airborne nuclear deterrent during much of the Cold War. The Vulcan had no defensive weaponry, initially relying upon high-speed high-altitude flight to evade interception, Electronic countermeasures were employed by the B.1 and B.2 from circa 1960. A change to low-level tactics was made in the mid-1960s, in the mid-1970s nine Vulcans were adapted for maritime radar reconnaissance operations, redesignated as B.2. In the final years of service six Vulcans were converted to the K.2 tanker configuration for aerial refuelling, B.2 XH558 flew for the last time in October 2015, before also being kept in taxiable condition at Robin Hood Airport, Doncaster. The origin of the Vulcan and the other V bombers is linked with early British atomic weapon programme, Britains atom bomb programme began with Air Staff Operational Requirement OR.1001 issued in August 1946. This anticipated a government decision in January 1947 to authorise research and development work on atomic weapons, atomic Energy Act of 1946 having prohibited exporting atomic knowledge, even to countries that had collaborated on the Manhattan Project. OR.1001 envisaged a weapon not to exceed 24 ft 2 in in length,5 ft in diameter and 10,000 lb in weight, the weapon had to be suitable for release from 20,000 ft to 50,000 ft. A cruising speed of 500 knots at heights between 35,000 ft and 50,000 ft was specified, the maximum weight when fully loaded ought not to exceed 100,000 lb. In addition to a bomb, the aircraft was to be capable of alternatively carrying a conventional bomb load of 20,000 lb. The similar OR.230 required a long range bomber with a 2,000 nautical miles radius of action with a weight of 200,000 lb when fully loaded. A total of six companies submitted technical brochures to this specification, the team estimated that an otherwise conventional aircraft, with a swept wing of 45°, would have doubled the weight requirement. Though Alexander Lippisch is generally credited as the pioneer of the delta wing, the initial design submission had four large turbojets stacked in pairs buried in the wing either side of the centreline. Outboard of the engines were two bomb-bays, in August 1947, Chadwick was killed in the crash of the Avro Tudor 2 prototype and was succeeded by Sir William Farren. The wingtip fins gave way to a single fin on the aircrafts centreline, rival manufacturer Handley Page received a prototype contract for its crescent-winged HP.80 B. 35/46 tender in November 1947. Though considered the best option, contract placement for Avros design was delayed whilst its technical strength was established, instructions to proceed with the construction of two Avro 698 prototypes was received in January 1948
23.
Operation Black Buck
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The objectives of all missions were to attack Port Stanley airfield and its associated defences. The Operation Black Buck raids were staged from RAF Ascension Island, the aircraft carried either twenty-one 1,000 lb bombs internally or two or four Shrike anti-radar missiles externally. The overall effect of the raids on the war is difficult to determine, the raids did minimal damage to the runway and damage to radars was quickly repaired. This dissuasive effect was however watered down when British officials made clear there would be no strikes on air bases in Argentina. A single crater was produced on the runway, rendering it impossible for the airfield to be used by fast jets, Argentine ground crew repaired the runway within twenty-four hours, to a level of quality suitable for the C-130 Hercules transport and Aermacchi MB-339 light attack jet. The Vulcan lacked the range to fly to the Falklands without refuelling several times, the RAFs tanker planes were mostly converted Handley Page Victor bombers with similar range, so they too had to be refuelled in the air. A total of 11 tankers were required for two Vulcans, a huge logistical effort as all aircraft had to use the same strip. The raids, at almost 6,800 nautical miles and 16 hours for the journey, were the longest-ranged bombing raids in history at that time. Without aircraft able to cover the distance, activities in the South Atlantic would be carried out by the Royal Navy. Plans were set in motion within the RAF to see if it could carry out any operations near the Falklands. The airfield nearest to the Falklands and usable for RAF operations was on Ascension Island, long-range operations were entirely dependent upon the RAFs tanker fleet and so fourteen Handley Page Victor tankers were transferred from RAF Marham to Ascension Island. The RAF tankers themselves were capable of being refuelled in flight, at RAF Marham, the tanker force was set to planning refuelling operations to take one or more bombers to the Falklands and back. The Avro Vulcan was the last of the British V bombers in use for bombing. They were based in the UK and assigned to NATO for nuclear operations, at RAF Waddington, the retraining of crews in conventional bombing and in-flight refuelling was begun. Aircraft were selected based upon their engines, only those with the more powerful Bristol Olympus 301 engines were considered suitable, One of the most challenging tasks was re-instating the refuelling system, which had been blocked off. Three 22-year-old Vulcan B2s were selected—XM597, XM598 and XM607—drawn from No,44,50 and No.101 Squadron RAF. After an initial delay of one day, the Vulcans were deployed to Wideawake, two further Vulcans, XM612 and XL391 were stationed at Wideawake as reserve aircraft in case of mechanical failures in the three primary aircraft. Squadron Leader Neil McDougall, Squadron Leader John Reeve, Squadron Leader Alastair Monty Montgomery, evaluation of the effectiveness of the Dash 10 pod and ECM training was undertaken at the RAF Spadeadam electronic warfare ranges in north-west England
24.
Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
25.
British Aerospace Sea Harrier
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It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the Shar. The Sea Harrier served in the Falklands War, and the Balkans conflicts and its usage in the Falklands War was its most high profile and important success, where it was the only fixed-wing fighter available to protect the British Task Force. The Sea Harriers shot down 20 enemy aircraft during the conflict with one lost to ground fire. They were also used to ground attacks in the same manner as the Harriers operated by the Royal Air Force. The Sea Harrier was marketed for sales abroad, but by 1983 India was the only operator other than Britain after sales to Argentina, the aircraft was withdrawn from service early by the Royal Navy in 2006. The Sea Harrier remained in service for another decade with the Indian Navy until its retirement in 2016 thus ending the career of the historic British jet. By 1960, the last battleship, HMS Vanguard, was retired from the Navy, perhaps the biggest sign of the new trend towards naval austerity came in 1966, when the planned CVA-01 class of large aircraft carriers destined for the Royal Navy was cancelled. During this time, requirements within the Royal Navy began to form for a vertical and/or short take-off, afterward, the first V/STOL tests on a ship began with a Hawker Siddeley P.1127 landing on HMS Ark Royal in 1963. A second concept for the future of naval aviation emerged in the early 1970s as the first of a new class of through deck cruisers was planned and these ships were ordered as the Invincible class in 1973, and are now popularly recognised as aircraft carriers. Almost immediately upon their construction, a ski-jump was added to the end of the 170-metre deck, the Royal Air Forces Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR1s had entered service in April 1969. A navalised variant of the Harrier was developed by Hawker Siddeley to serve on the upcoming ships, in 1975, the Royal Navy ordered 24 Sea Harrier FRS.1 aircraft, the first of which entered service in 1978. During this time Hawker Siddeley became part of British Aerospace through nationalisation in 1977, by the time the prototype Sea Harrier was flown at Dunsfold on 20 August 1978 the order had been increased to 34. The Sea Harrier was declared operational in 1981 on board the first Invincible class ship HMS Invincible, the first flight of the prototype took place in September 1988 and a contract was signed for 29 upgraded aircraft in December that year. In 1990, the Navy ordered 18 new-build FA2s, at a unit cost of around £12 million, the first aircraft was delivered on 2 April 1993. The Sea Harrier is an aircraft designed to fill strike, reconnaissance. It features a single Rolls-Royce Pegasus turbofan engine with two intakes and four vectorable nozzles and it has two landing gear on the fuselage and two outrigger landing gear on the wings. The Sea Harrier is equipped with four wing and three fuselage pylons for carrying weapons and external fuel tanks, parts were changed to use corrosion resistant alloys or coatings were added to protect against the marine environment. After the Falklands War, the Sea Harrier was fitted with the new anti-ship Sea Eagle missile, the Blue Vixen formed the basis for development of the Eurofighter Typhoons CAPTOR radar
26.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules
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The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medevac and it is now the main tactical airlifter for many military forces worldwide. Over forty variants and versions of the Hercules, including a civilian one marketed as the Lockheed L-100, the C-130 entered service with the U. S. in the 1950s, followed by Australia and others. During its years of service, the Hercules family has participated in numerous military, the C-130 Hercules is the longest continuously produced military aircraft at over 60 years, with the updated Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules currently being produced. The new transport would have a capacity of 92 passengers,72 combat troops or 64 paratroopers in a compartment that was approximately 41 feet long,9 feet high. Unlike transports derived from passenger airliners, it was to be designed from the ground-up as a transport with loading from a hinged loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage. A key feature was the introduction of the Allison T56 turboprop powerplant, as was the case on helicopters of that era, such as the UH-1 Huey, turboshafts produced much more power for their weight than piston engines. Lockheed would subsequently use the engines and technology in the Lockheed L-188 Electra. The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter also had a ramp, which made it possible to drive vehicles onto the plane. The ramp on the Hercules was also used to airdrop cargo, the new Lockheed cargo plane design possessed a range of 1,100 nmi, takeoff capability from short and unprepared strips, and the ability to fly with one engine shut down. Fairchild, North American, Martin, and Northrop declined to participate, the remaining five companies tendered a total of ten designs, Lockheed two, Boeing one, Chase three, Douglas three, and Airlifts Inc. one. The contest was an affair between the lighter of the two Lockheed proposals and a four-turboprop Douglas design. The Lockheed design team was led by Willis Hawkins, starting with a 130-page proposal for the Lockheed L-206, both Hibbard and Johnson signed the proposal and the company won the contract for the now-designated Model 82 on 2 July 1951. The first flight of the YC-130 prototype was made on 23 August 1954 from the Lockheed plant in Burbank, the aircraft, serial number 53-3397, was the second prototype, but the first of the two to fly. The YC-130 was piloted by Stanley Beltz and Roy Wimmer on its 61-minute flight to Edwards Air Force Base, Jack Real, kelly Johnson flew chase in a Lockheed P2V Neptune. After the two prototypes were completed, production began in Marietta, Georgia, where over 2,300 C-130s have been built through 2009. The initial production model, the C-130A, was powered by Allison T56-A-9 turboprops with three-blade propellers, deliveries began in December 1956, continuing until the introduction of the C-130B model in 1959. Some A-models were equipped with skis and re-designated C-130D, four-bladed Hamilton Standard propellers replaced the Aeroproducts three-blade propellers that distinguished the earlier A-models
27.
Argentine surrender in the Falklands War
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The last stage of the Falklands War was the surrender of the Argentine Governor at Port Stanley. With the last natural defence line at Mount Tumbledown breached, the Argentine town defences of Port Stanley began to falter, in the morning gloom, one company commander got lost and his junior officers became despondent. At 2100 hours on 14 June 1982, the commander of the Argentine garrison in Stanley, General Mario Menéndez, surrendered to the Major General Jeremy Moore. The surrender was in conflict with the Argentine Army code stating that a surrender was illegal unless more than 50% of the men were casualties, the terms of the surrender document were slightly changed after negotiation by General Menéndez. The phrase unconditional surrender was changed for the term surrender, the Argentines were granted, The Argentines units will retain their flags. The units will remain under control of their respective officers The surrender ceremony will be private The Argentine officers will retain their sidearms. The final point about the returning of the 11,313 prisoners of war in their own ships was not accepted and 4,167 of them were repatriated to Argentina on the ocean liner Canberra alone. The Argentine Rattenbach commission was assembled after the war to investigate the causes of defeat and it recommended serious penalties for some of the officers in charge, but its influence on the later trial was practically nil. On 20 June, the British retook the South Sandwich Islands, Corbeta Uruguay was established in 1976, but the Argentine base was only contested through diplomatic channels by the UK until 1982. The war lasted 74 days, with 255 British and 649 Argentine soldiers, marines, sailors, and airmen, the British Government decreed that all classified information would be available to the public in the year 2082. However, following the Freedom of Information Act, a deal of formerly classified material is now available. The surrender document is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London, relations between the UK and Argentina were not restored until 1989 and only under the umbrella formula which states that the islands sovereignty dispute will remain aside. Guerra Bajo la Cruz del Sur, Eduardo Jose Costa ISBN 950-614-749-3
28.
HMS Hermes (R12)
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HMS Hermes was a conventional British aircraft carrier and the last of the Centaur class. Hermes was in service with the Royal Navy from 1959 until 1984, after being sold to India in 1986, the vessel was recommissioned and remained in service with the Indian Navy as INS Viraat until 2016. The ship was laid down by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness during World War II as HMS Elephant, construction was suspended in 1945 but work was resumed in 1952 to clear the slipway and the hull was launched on 16 February 1953. With these changes she more resembled the reconstructed aircraft carrier Victorious than the three ships in the class. Hermes initially operated Supermarine Scimitar, de Havilland Sea Vixen, and Fairey Gannet fixed-wing aircraft, Hermes cost £18 million, with another £1 million for electronic equipment and £10 million for aircraft in 1959. Civil Lord of the Admiralty John Hay said in Parliament on 2 March 1964 that Phantoms will be operated from Hermes, Eagle and our present information and advice is that the aircraft should be able to operate from Hermes after she has undergone her refit. This seemed optimistic, as most sources believed Victorious was the smallest carrier then in commission that the modified RN F-4K versions of the Phantom could realistically have operated from. While the Phantoms built for the RN were modified in ways similar to F-8 Crusaders for the French Navy - improving deceleration on landing - the modifications were not entirely successful, however, both the Crusader and the Skyhawk were already considered near-obsolete by the end of the 1960s. Nevertheless, the light A-4M Skyhawks would have allowed the Hermes to carry a viable late 1970s airgroup of 20 Skyhawks,6 Sea Kings and 4 Gannet AEW aircraft. A1966 review indicated that Hermes was surplus to operational requirements, the offer was turned down due to operating and manpower costs. Hermes served as one of four Royal Navy strike carriers mainly in the Indian Ocean, the final CATOBAR air wing in 1968-1970 consisted of,809 NAS.7 Buccaneer S2 naval strike aircraft 893 NAS.12 Sea Vixen FAW2 all-weather fighter 849 NAS. A flt.4 Fairey Gannet AEW.3 airborne early warning 849 NAS.1 Gannet COD4 for carrier onboard delivery 814 NAS. Therefore, Hermes was docked down in number 10 Dock in Devonport Dockyard between 1971 and 1973, undergoing a conversion in which her arresting cables, steam catapults, landing craft and berthing for 800 troops were added and her airwing became approximately 20 Sea King helicopters. She sailed for the Falklands with an airgroup of 12 Sea Harrier FRS1 attack aircraft of the Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm, a few weeks after sailing, more aircraft were flown or transported via other ships to replace some losses and augment the task force. Hermess airgroup grew to 16 Sea Harriers,10 Hawker Siddeley Harrier GR3s of the Royal Air Force, as she was the RNs largest carrier, she was considered too valuable to risk close into the Falklands, due to the possibility of Argentine air force attacks. Her Harriers therefore operated at the limit of their endurance radius, when this was completed in November 1982, she embarked stores and performed work-ups exercises. She then took part in NATO exercises in the North Atlantic, and the Mediterranean Sea as a commando carrier. In the autumn of 1983 she took part in her last exercise, Ocean Safari, after this exercise she called into Devonport for a minor refit and thereafter into maintained reserve in Portsmouth
29.
HMS Invincible (R05)
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HMS Invincible was the Royal Navys lead ship of the three light aircraft carriers in her class. She was launched on 3 May 1977 as the ship to carry the name. She saw action in the Falklands War when she was deployed with HMS Hermes, Invincible was also deployed in the Yugoslav Wars and the Second Gulf War. In 2005, she was decommissioned and eventually sold for scrap to the Turkish company Leyal Ship Recycling in February 2011, Invincible was built at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering. She was laid down in 1973, launched on 3 May 1977 and commissioned on 11 July 1980, whereafter she joined the other carriers Hermes. The sale was confirmed by the Ministry of Defence, on 2 April 1982, however, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Along with eight Sea Harriers, the Invincibles airgroup included twelve Sea King helicopters that were larger than the ship had originally been designed to accommodate. Small machine guns were added around the deck and island for close-in defence. As the 707 would be no threat to the fleet, Woodward ordered Weapons Tight. The Harrier pilot reported that it was a Brazilian airliner, with all the normal navigation, on 1 June, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser advised the British government that the sale of Invincible to Australia could be cancelled if desired. In July 1983, a year after the end of the Falklands conflict, although Argentina claimed to have damaged the ship during the conflict, this was officially denied by the British government and no evidence of any such damage has been produced or uncovered. Between 1993 and 1995, Invincible was deployed in the Adriatic for Operation Deny Flight, in 1997, flying the flag of Rear-Admiral Alan West, Commander UK Task Group, Invincible led a deployment that included 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines. During the following two years, Invincible contributed to Operation Bolton in southern Iraq before she was redeployed to the Balkans to support the NATO action against Yugoslavia over Kosovo, there, while her helicopters aided refugees, her Harriers were involved in military strikes. On 6 June 2005, the Ministry of Defence announced that Invincible would be inactive until 2010 and she was decommissioned on 3 August 2005, twenty months after an extensive refit that had been intended to give her ten more years of service. Illustrious succeeded her as the services flagship, the Royal Navy maintained that Invincible could have been deployed had the need arisen and that Navy policy assumed she was still an active aircraft carrier. In March 2010, Invincible was tied up and minimally maintained with other decommissioned ships up-river of HMNB Portsmouth. On 10 September 2010, she was struck off the Naval Reserve List and, in December, the DSA tender documents confirmed that the ships engines had been removed and that its generators and pumps were generally unserviceable or not working. In light, however, of Chinas re-arming of the Varyag – bought under a similar pretext –, a month later, in February 2011, BBC News reported that the Ministry of Defence had announced the sale of Invincible to Leyal Ship Recycling in Turkey
30.
HMS Illustrious (R06)
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HMS Illustrious was a light aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy and the second of three Invincible-class ships constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She was the warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious. In 1982, the conflict in the Falklands necessitated that Illustrious be completed and rushed south to join her sister ship HMS Invincible and she arrived in the Falklands to relieve Invincible on 28 August 1982 in a steam past. Returning to the United Kingdom, she was not formally commissioned into the fleet until 20 March 1983, after the Falklands War, she was deployed on Operation Southern Watch in Iraq, then Operation Deny Flight in Bosnia during the 1990s and Operation Palliser in Sierra Leone in 2000. An extensive re-fit during 2002 prevented her involvement in the 2003 Iraq War. Following the retirement of her fixed-wing British Aerospace Harrier II aircraft in 2010, Illustrious, the second of the three Invincible-class aircraft carriers, was laid down at Swan Hunter on the River Tyne in 1976 and launched in 1978. As the ship neared the end of its fitting out period, as a consequence, work on Illustrious was greatly speeded up. The war was won before Illustrious could be finished, but she did perform a service in the aftermath. Until the RAF airfield on the Falkland Islands was repaired, air defence of the area was the responsibility of the Fleet Air Arm, after Hermes returned to the UK, Invincible remained on station in the South Atlantic until September 1982. To relieve Invincible, the newly completed Illustrious was rapidly deployed, additionally, a pair of Sea Kings from 824 Naval Air Squadron were attached to the air group, which had been converted to operate in the AEW role. So rapidly was Illustrious deployed that she was commissioned while at sea, rear Admiral Derek Reffell commanded the relief task group from Illustrious during this period. After the RAF airfield was repaired, Illustrious returned to the UK for a shakedown cruise and workup period. The carrier saw no action during the remainder of the 1980s. During those years, the ship received several enhancements during refits, during an Extended Dockyard Assisted Maintenance Period, numerous modifications were made to the ship including the removal of her Sea Dart missile defences at a cost of twelve million pounds. This allowed for extra space that enables her to carry up to 22 aircraft. On 3 April 1986 she suffered a gearbox failure which almost saw the end of the vessels naval career. At one point the captain made preparations to ship, but was then overruled by the fleet admiral who believed the ship could be saved. There was no loss of life or serious injury, but the trip was put off for several months whilst the ship was out of service for extensive repairs
31.
McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in UK service
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The United Kingdom operated the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II as one of its principal combat aircraft from the 1960s to the early 1990s. The UK was the first export customer for the Phantom, which was ordered in the context of political and economic difficulties around British designs for the roles that it eventually undertook. The Phantom was procured to serve in both the Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force in several roles including air defence, close air support, low-level strike and tactical reconnaissance. In the mid-1980s, a third Phantom variant was obtained when a quantity of second-hand F-4J aircraft were purchased to augment the UKs air defences following the Falklands War, the Phantom entered service with both the Fleet Air Arm and the RAF in 1969. By the mid-1970s it had become the UKs principal interceptor, a role in which it continued until the late 1980s. In the late 1950s, the British Government began the process of replacing its early second-generation jet combat aircraft in service with the Royal Air Force, at the time, the British aerospace industry was still a major source of equipment, and designs from several companies were in service. The intention was to rationalise the industry to cut costs, Hawker Siddeley was also developing a new aircraft, based on its P.1127 V/STOL demonstrator. The P.1154 was proposed as a version that could be marketed to both the RAF and Royal Navy to fulfil a number of roles, close air support, air superiority. During the early 1960s, aircraft development became increasingly expensive, resulting in major projects often becoming mired in political, the development of TSR-2 saw increasing cost overruns, combined with the presence of a potentially cheaper alternative then under development in the United States, the F-111. In 1964, the Royal Navy withdrew from the P.1154 project and this better suited the Royal Navy, as the Phantom had two engines, was cheaper than the P.1154, and was immediately available. The P.1154 was thus left as a wholly RAF project, later the same year, a general election brought the Labour Party back into power. The new government undertook a review, which led to the 1966 Defence White Paper that cancelled several projects. As a consequence, the government was forced to order new aircraft to replace the Canberra and Hunter for the RAF, partly as a means of guaranteeing employment in the British aerospace industry, agreement was reached that major portions of the UKs Phantoms would be built domestically. The F-4J variant, which was then the primary version in service with the US Navy, was taken as the basis for the UK aircraft, subject to major redesign. The most significant change was the substitution of the larger and more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey turbofan for the GE J79 turbojet to allow operations from the Royal Navys carriers. Although several had received major upgrades, all of the UK carriers were smaller than the US carriers from which the J79-GE-8, to accommodate the larger engines, BAC redesigned and built the entire rear fuselage section. The Westinghouse AN/AWG-10 radar carried by the F-4J was to be procured and built under licence by Ferranti as the AN/AWG-11 for FAA aircraft and AN/AWG-12 for those of the RAF. The changes to the aircraft led to the two variants being given their own separate series letters, with the FAA version being designated as the F-4K and the RAF version as the F-4M
32.
Gloster Gladiator
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The Gloster Gladiator is a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm and was exported to a number of air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAFs last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it was being introduced, though often pitted against more formidable foes during the early days of the Second World War, it acquitted itself reasonably well in combat. The Gladiator saw action in almost all theatres during the Second World War, with a number of air forces. The RAF used it in France, Norway, Greece, the defence of Malta, the Middle East, the South African pilot Marmaduke Pat Pattle was the top Gladiator ace with 15 victories. However, the Goshawk engine proved to be unreliable and unsuited to use on fighter aircraft, a further stumbling point for many of the submitted designs was the placement of the machine gun breeches in arms reach of the pilot. At the same time, the development of fighters such as the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire cast doubt over the future viability of the requirement altogether. Gloster recognised that, instead of developing a design from scratch. Development of what would become the Gladiator began as a venture, internally designated as the SS.37. Folland soon identified various changes to increase the aircrafts suitability to conform with the demands of the specification. The Bristol Mercury M. E.30 radial engine, capable of generating 700 hp of thrust, was selected to power the SS.37, another design choice was the fitting of a cantilever main undercarriage which incorporated Dowty internally-sprung wheel struts. In Spring 1934, Gloster embarked on the construction of a single SS.37 prototype, on 12 September 1934, the SS.37 prototype conducted its maiden flight, piloted by Gloster chief test pilot Gerry Sayer. Initially powered by a 530 hp Mercury IV engine, the prototype was quickly reequipped with a more powerful 645 hp Mercury VIS engine, during flight tests, the prototype attained a top speed of 242 mph while carrying the required four.303 in machine guns. On 3 April 1935, the prototype was transferred to the Royal Air Force, receiving the designation K5200, K5200 was later used to trial modifications for production aircraft, such as the addition of a sliding hood for the pilot. In June 1935, production plans for the aircraft were proposed and this culminated in an initial order for 23 aircraft. On 1 July 1935, the aircraft received the name Gladiator. Manufacturing of the Gladiator was started at Glosters Hucclecote facility, production of the initial batch was performed simultaneously, leading to many aircraft being completed around the same time. On 16 February 1937, K6129, the first production Gladiator, was accepted by the RAF, on 4 March 1937, K6151
33.
Hal Far Fighter Flight
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The Hal Far Fighter Flight was a British fighter unit formed during the Siege of Malta in 1940. For several weeks, the island of Malta was protected by a force of Gloster Sea Gladiator biplane fighters, based at RAF Hal Far. The flight is the source of the myth that only three aircraft, named Faith, Hope and Charity formed the cover for the island. In fact, more than three aircraft were operational, though not always at the time, others were used for spare parts. The names Faith, Hope and Charity were applied to the many months later. Crates containing 18 Sea Gladiators Mark I from 802 Naval Air Squadron, were left at Malta in early 1940 by HMS Glorious, Three of the airframes were later shipped to Britain to take part in the Norwegian campaign and another three were sent to Egypt. In March, although Malta was not facing attack, it was decided that six Gladiators would be assembled to form an air defence unit, the Hal Far Fighter Flight was to include both FAA and Royal Air Force personnel. Five aeroplanes were eventually assembled, including N5525, N5527, N5530 and N5533 but a few days later, they were dismantled again. In April, it was decided that Malta had a need for protection and although the Gladiators were obsolete. N5519, N5520, N5522 and N5531 were assembled and test-flown, Two of these were to be used for normal operations, one was kept for spares and the other was kept in reserve. In May, N5524 and N5529, were assembled and other crated aircraft were to be used as spares. On 11 June 1940, when the air battle for Malta began, by June, two of the Gladiators had crashed and two more were assembled. On June 10, Italy entered the war and that same day 10 Cant Z.1007 bombers of the Regia Aeronautica attacked Grand Harbour and Hal Far. In early raids, the Italian crews bombed from around 5,500 m and later reduced the altitude to 3,000 m. A reporter, Mabel Strickland claimed that the Italians decided they didnt like, so dropped their bombs off Malta. Four Hawker Hurricanes joined the Sea Gladiators at the end of June, Charity was shot down on 29 July 1940 and its pilot, Flying Officer P. W. Hartley, was badly burned. Hope was destroyed in an air raid on 4 February 1941, the fate of at least five more Gladiators that saw action over Malta is not as well documented. Sea Gladiators N5513 and N5535 were taken over by No.33 Squadron RAF, the fuselage of Faith is on display at the National War Museum, Fort St Elmo, Valletta
34.
Mowlem
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Mowlem was one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom. Carillion bought the firm in 2006, the firm was founded by John Mowlem in 1822, and was continued as a partnership by successive generations of the Mowlem and Burt families, including George Burt, and Sir John Mowlem Burt. The company was awarded a Royal Warrant in 1902 and went public on the London Stock Exchange in 1924, during the Second World War the company was one of the contractors engaged in building the Mulberry harbour units. Mowlem acquired SGB Group, a supplier of scaffolding, in 1986, Mowlem also bought Unit Construction in 1986, giving the firm a substantial presence in private housebuilding - within two years, sales were up to an annual rate of 1,200. The ensuing recession led to losses of over £180m between 1991 and 1993 and banking covenants came under pressure, the housing division was sold to Beazer in 1994. Mowlem was bought by Carillion in February 2006, Mowlem was also the owner and developer of London City Airport completed in 1986. Code Name Mulberry, The Planning Building and Operation of the Normandy Harbours, Mowlem 1822 -1972 - company brochure
35.
John Laing Group
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It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE250 Index. The £150 proceeds from the first house financed the building of the two houses on the same plot of land, one of which was kept by the Laing family to live in. The family and the later moved near Carlisle. When James Laing died in 1882, his son, John Laing took over the running of the company, John began to undertake larger contracts but confined the business to the Carlisle area. Johns son, John William Laing, was working for the business before he was 20 years old, by 1910, John William Laing was running the business. More employees were recruited and larger projects were undertaken, including factory construction, in 1920 the firm became a limited company, and two years later moved its headquarters from Carlisle to a 13 acres site at Mill Hill in north-west London. During the Second World War the company was one of the contractors engaged in building the Mulberry harbour units, William Kirby Laing and John Maurice Laing, the fifth generation of the founding family, joined the company in 1950. John Laing & Sons Ltd was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in January 1953, the family and its trusts and charities held the majority of the shares. John William Laing became the chairman, and his sons became joint managing directors, by this time, the number of employees was around 10,000, and every site had a quality supervisor. John William Laing retired in 1957, the company acquired Holloway Brothers in 1964. Under William Kirby Laing and James Maurice Laing, the continued to expand, winning contracts for power stations. In 1985, Martin Laing, of the generation of the founding family. Martin Laing determined that the company should begin to diversify, home construction in the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Spain, and California was now one of the major sources of the companys growth. In 1999 John Laing plc purchased a controlling interest in the Chiltern Rail franchise and it underwent yet another change when Sir Martin Laing retired in early 2002. Bill Forrester took over as executive chairman, for the first time in its history Laing did not have a member of the founding family at the head of the company. The business expanded rapidly in the late 1990s, such that for the year ended 31 December 2001 its turnover was in excess of £1 billion, following significant losses on certain construction contracts the company cut 800 jobs and in 2001 disposed of its construction division to ORourke for £1. It focused instead on its PPP / PFI activities, laings property developments divisions were sold to Kier Group, and its house building arm was sold to George Wimpey in 2002. In 2003 its affordable housing division was sold in a management buy-out, in December 2006 John Laing plc was acquired by the private equity arm of Henderson Group
36.
Amey plc
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Amey plc, previously known as Amey Ltd and Amey Roadstone Construction, is a United Kingdom based infrastructure support service provider. It was once listed on the London Stock Exchange but since 2003 it has been a subsidiary of Spanish company Grupo Ferrovial, the head office for the company is in the Sherard Building in Oxford. Amey was founded in the 1921 by William Amey as an Oxfordshire-based quarry operator, the company grew during the Second World War with its involvement in the construction of Royal Air Force bases. In 1959, the company was responsible for the supply of gravel for the construction of the M1 motorway, in the same year it became a public company. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1963, between 1972 and 1989, the company was owned by Consolidated Gold Fields, and used the names Amey Roadstone and ARC. In 1974, they bought Stephen Toulson & Sons, in 1989 Hanson purchased the company for a short period before it went into private ownership until 1995, when it was refloated on the London Stock Exchange. In 2003 it was acquired by Ferrovial, but continues to trade under the Amey name, in 2006, Amey acquired the highway and railway design consultancy, Owen Williams, allowing it to substantially grow its business and develop its own consultancy division. Amey acquired WYG Engineering Ltd in 2010, Transportation Planning Ltd in 2011, at one time Amey had its head office in Sutton Courtenay, Vale of White Horse, near Abingdon. In April 2013, Amey completed the acquisition of utilities, waste and public service providers, most of Amey’s business is UK based, however it also operates in America, Australia and Qatar. Amey is involved in consultancy in the engineering industry with a wide range of design. This includes structural design, civil infrastructure, transport systems and asset management services, the company retains its Oxfordshire links, with its head office located on the Oxford Science Park in the city of Oxford. Major projects undertaken by Amey Roadstone Construction included Mount Pleasant Airfield completed in 1986, in August 2012, Amey signed a 25 year private-finance-initiative Streets Ahead contract with Sheffield City Council to maintain the citys roads, pavements, street lights and highway trees
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Wide-body aircraft
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A wide-body aircraft is a jet airliner having a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles, also known as twin-aisle aircraft, with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is 5 to 6 m, in the typical wide-body economy cabin, passengers are seated seven to ten abreast, allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850 passengers. The largest wide-body aircraft are over 6 m wide, and can accommodate up to eleven passengers abreast in high-density configurations, by comparison, a typical narrow-body airliner has a diameter of 3 to 4 m, with a single aisle, and seats between two and six people abreast. Wide-body aircraft were designed for a combination of efficiency and passenger comfort. However, airlines quickly gave in to economic factors, and reduced the passenger space in order to maximize revenue. Wide-body aircraft are used for the transport of commercial freight and cargo and other special uses. The biggest wide-body aircraft are known as jumbo jets due to their large size, examples include the Boeing 747, Airbus A380. The phrase, jumbo jet, derives from Jumbo, a circus elephant in the 19th century. 7-abreast aircraft seats typically 160 to 260 passengers, 8-abreast 250 to 380,9, following the success of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, airlines began seeking larger aircraft to meet the rising global demand for air travel. Engineers were faced with many challenges as airlines demanded more seats per aircraft, longer ranges. Early jet aircraft such as the 707 and DC-8 seated passengers along either side of a single aisle, larger aircraft would have to be longer, higher, or wider in order to accommodate a greater number of passenger seats. Engineers realized having two decks created difficulties in meeting emergency evacuation regulations with the available at that time. During the 1960s, it was believed that supersonic airliners would succeed larger, slower planes. Thus, it was believed that most subsonic aircraft would become obsolete for passenger travel, as a result, airline manufacturers opted for a wider fuselage rather than a taller one. By adding an aisle, the wider aircraft could accommodate as many as 10 seats across. The full length double-deck solution was not realized until the twenty-first century, the widebody age began in 1970 with the entry into service of the first widebody airliner, the four-engined, partial double-deck Boeing 747. New trijet widebody aircraft soon followed, including the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, the first widebody twinjet, the Airbus A300, entered service in 1974. This period came to be known as the widebody wars, in the jumbo category, the capacity of the Boeing 747 was not surpassed until October 2007, when the Airbus A380 entered commercial service with the nickname Superjumbo
38.
Fleet Air Arm
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The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King, and AgustaWestland Wildcat helicopters, helicopters such as the Lynx and Westland Wasp have been deployed on smaller vessels since 1964, taking over the roles once performed by biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish. During the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm operated aircraft on ships as well as land-based aircraft that defended the Royal Navys shore establishments, British naval flying started in 1909, with the construction of an airship for naval duties. The Naval Wing of the RFC lasted until July 1914 when the Royal Navy reformed its air branch, under the Air Department of the Admiralty, naming it the Royal Naval Air Service. By the outbreak of the First World War, in August 1914, the RNAS had more aircraft under its control than the remaining RFC. In April 1918 the RNAS, which at this time had 67,000 officers and men,2,949 aircraft,103 airships and 126 coastal stations, merged with the RFC to form the Royal Air Force. On 1 April 1924, the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force was formed, encompassing those RAF units that normally embarked on aircraft carriers, over the following months RAF Fleet Air Arm Fairey IIID reconnaissance biplanes operated off Hermes, conducting flying trials. On 24 May 1939 the Fleet Air Arm was returned to Admiralty control under the Inskip Award, at the onset of the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm consisted of 20 squadrons with only 232 aircraft. By the end of the war the strength of the Fleet Air Arm was 59 aircraft carriers,3,700 aircraft,72,000 officers and men. During the war, the FAA operated fighters, torpedo bombers, following the Dunkirk evacuation and the commencement of the Battle of Britain, the Royal Air Force soon found itself critically short of fighter pilots. In the summer of 1940, the RAF had little more than 800 fighter pilots, with this desperate situation the RAF was forced to call upon the Admiralty for Fleet Air Arm assistance. The aircraft carrier had replaced the battleship as the Fleets capital ship, the top scoring fighter ace with 17 victories was Commander Stanley Orr, the Royal Marine ace was Ronald Cuthbert Hay with 13 victories. A number of Royal Marines served as FAA pilots during the war, after the war the FAA needed to fly jet aircraft from their carriers. The jet aircraft of the era were considerably less effective at low speeds than propeller aircraft, the FAA took on its first jet, the Sea Vampire, in the late 1940s. The Sea Vampire was the first jet credited with taking off, the Air Arm continued with high-powered prop aircraft alongside the new jets resulting in the FAA being woefully outpowered during the Korean War. Nevertheless, jets were not yet wholly superior to propeller aircraft, as jets became larger, more powerful and faster they required more space to take off and land. The US Navy simply built much larger carriers, the Royal Navy had a few large carriers built and completed after the end of the war but another solution was sought. An associated British invention, intended to more precise optical guidance to aircraft on final approaching the deck, was the Fresnel lens optical landing aid
39.
No. 23 Squadron RAF
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No.23 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. Until October 2009, it operated the Boeing Sentry AEW1 Airborne Warning And Control System aircraft from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. No.23 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps was formed at Fort Grange, Gosport on 1 September 1915, commanded by Louis Strange and equipped with a mixture of types. A detachment of Royal Aircraft Factory B. E. 2Cs were deployed to Suttons Farm to act as night fighters to oppose raids by German Zeppelins, the squadron moved to France on 16 March 1916 flying FE2b two-seat pusher fighters. By the end of the year the Fee was obsolete,23 Squadron flew its SPADs both on offensive fighter patrols over the front and low-level strafing attacks against German troops. In December 1917 it replaced its SPAD S. VII with the more powerful, the squadron converted to Sopwith Dolphins in April 1918 until it disbanded just after the war on 31 December 1919. It numbered 19 aces among its ranks during the war, including, William Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick, DSO, MC, mcGregor, MC, James Pearson, DFC, Clive W. The squadron was re-formed on 1 July 1925 at RAF Henlow with the Sopwith Snipe, in 1938 it became a night-fighter squadron using the Bristol Blenheim. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, these were replaced by the Douglas Havoc, between 1942 and 1944 the squadron was based on Malta. It then returned to England and served as a squadron, targeting German night fighters. 23 Sqn was disbanded, following the end, in September 1945. The squadron was reformed on 1 September 1946 as a fighter squadron operating the de Havilland Mosquito. It received jet aircraft in the form of de Havilland Vampire NF. 10s in 1953, the squadron acquired Venom NF.3 in 1957. In 1957 the squadron converted to the Gloster Javelin all-weather fighter, the squadron has a strong heritage in the air defence role, operating Gloster Javelins, Lightnings, Phantoms and Tornado F3s. The squadron first acquired Phantoms on 1 November 1975 at RAF Coningsby before moving to RAF Wattisham for just under 10 years, then in October 1983 the squadron deployed to Stanley airfield, Falkland Islands after their recapture from Argentina, arriving there on 1 November. They remained here until 31 October 1988 when its duty was assumed by 1435 Flight, the squadron then reformed on 1 November 1988 at RAF Leeming with the Panavia Tornado which it operated until 26 February 1994, when the unit was disbanded. The squadron assumed the Airborne Early Warning role upon reformation in April 1996, the squadron disbanded on 2 October 2009, when it amalgamated with No 8 Squadron. Among the 19 aces that served within its ranks in World War I were William Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick, Douglas Bader was a member of 23 Squadron when he crashed carrying out low level aerobatics, losing his legs in the process
40.
No. 78 Squadron RAF
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No.78 Squadron of the Royal Air Force operated the Merlin HC3/3A transport helicopter from RAF Benson. Until December 2007 it was the operator of two Westland Sea King HAR3s from RAF Mount Pleasant, Falkland Islands,78 Squadron was stood down on 30 September 2014 as the Merlin Force transferred to the Commando Helicopter Force of the Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm at RNAS Yeovilton. No.78 Squadron was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps on 1 November 1916 for home defence at Harrietsham and it was originally equipped with obsolescent BE2 and more modern BE12 fighters. On the night of 25 September 1917 a Captain Bell of the squadron encountered a German Gotha and attacked it over RAF Joyce Green. John Rawlings, writing in Fighter Squadrons of the Royal Air Force, stated that it was believed that he damaged it for one of the German raiders failed to return that night, the squadron received Sopwith 1½ Strutters in late 1917, followed by Sopwith Camels in mid-1918. It arrived at Suttons Farm, under the command of Major Cuthbert Rowden, in September 1917 and was there until December 1919, the squadron disbanded on 31 December 1919 following the Armistice. The new squadron moved to RAF Dishforth in Yorkshire early in 1937, in July 1937 it was equipped with Armstrong Whitworth Whitley night bombers. On the outbreak of the Second World War, the squadron was designated as a training squadron and it moved to RAF Linton-on-Ouse on 15 October 1939, returning to Dishforth in July when it returned to front-line duties as a night bomber squadron. In April 1941, the moved to RAF Middleton St. George. In September, the squadron flew its first bombing raid against Berlin and it moved again, to RAF Croft, in October 1941. On the night of 30/31 May 1942,78 Squadron contributed 22 Halifaxes to Operation Millennium, the squadron moved back to Middleton St. George in June 1942 and to Linton-on-Ouse in September 1942. In June 1943, the moved to RAF Breighton to free up Linton-on Ouse for the Canadian bomber force of No.6 Group RAF. In January 1944 the squadron replaced its Merlin-powered Halifax B. IIs with Halifax B. IIIs, in total, the squadron had dropped 17000 t of bombs and mines during 6,337 operational sorties, losing 182 aircraft but claiming 28 enemy fighters shot down. It remained active in the period as a transport squadron, converting to Valettas in April 1950. The squadron was reformed on 24 April 1956 at RAF Khormaksar in Aden and these were replaced by larger, twin-engined, Twin Pioneers in November 1958. In 1965 these were transferred to No.21 Squadron and the converted to a helicopter unit operating the Wessex. It transferred to RAF Sharjah in 1967, continuing to fly in the support and Search. The Squadron reformed on 22 May 1986 when No.1310 Flight, operating Boeing Chinooks, originally operating the Chinook HC.1, these were later replaced with HC. 2s
41.
Boeing Chinook (UK variants)
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The Boeing Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter operated by the Royal Air Force. A series of variants based on the United States Armys Boeing CH-47 Chinook, in March 1967 an order was placed for fifteen Chinook HC Mk1s, standing for Helicopter, Cargo Mark 1, for the Royal Air Force to replace the Bristol Belvedere. This original MK1 variant was to be based on the CH-47B, UK Chinook procurement ambitions were revived in 1978 with an announced requirement for a new heavy-lift helicopter to replace the Westland Wessex. Thirty Chinooks were ordered at a price of US$200 million and these helicopters, comparable to the CH-47C with Lycoming T55-L-11E engines, were again designated Chinook HC Mk1, and entered service in December 1980. Eight more Mk1s were delivered from 1984 to 1986 with the CH-47Ds Lycoming T55-L-712 turboshafts, the replacement of the Mk1s metal rotor blades with aluminium and glass fibre composite rotor blades saw these aircraft designated Chinook HC Mk1B. All surviving aircraft were returned to Boeing and updated to the Chinook HC Mk2 standard for further service within the RAF. The US Armys next generation Chinook, the CH-47D, entered service in 1982, the RAF returned their original Mk1s to Boeing for upgrading to CH-47D standard, the first of which returned to the UK in 1993. Three additional HC Mk2 Chinooks were ordered with delivery beginning in 1995, one Argentine CH-47C was captured during the Falklands War, and used by the RAF as a training aid. The rear fuselage was used to repair a crashed RAF Chinook in 2003. In 2006, the retirement dates for the Mk2 and Mk2A fleets were scheduled for 2015 and 2025 respectively, eight Chinook HC Mk3s were ordered in 1995 as dedicated special forces helicopters, which were intended to be low-cost variants of the US Armys MH-47E. The Mk3s include improved range, night vision sensors and navigation capability, the eight aircraft were to cost £259 million and the forecast in-service date was November 1998. Although delivered in 2001, the Mk3 could not receive airworthiness certificates as it was not possible to certify the avionics software. Unfortunately the procurement was a profoundly inept piece of procurement, Sir Peter Spencer, who as head of Defence Procurement inherited the project, said that, I mean, there were 100 essential requirements. One of them said to give protection against any missile coming from any direction, Spencer later commented, it is always hard to imagine why people think you would be able cost effectively to buy a bespoke requirement for a very small production run. The avionics were unsuitable due to risk analysis and necessary requirements omitted from the procurement contract. The Times claimed that the Ministry of Defence planned to perform software integration itself, without Boeings involvement, while lacking certification, the helicopters were only permitted to fly in visual meteorological conditions and subsequently stored in climate controlled hangars. The programme was estimated to cost £50–60 million, on 6 July 2009 the first of the eight modified Chinook HC Mk3s made its first test flight at MoD Boscombe Down as part of the flight testing and evaluation phase of the HC Mk3 reversion program. A programme to upgrade 46 Chinook Mk2/2A and Mk3 helicopters was initiated in December 2008, upgraded Mk2/2A and Mk3 aircraft will be redesignated Mk4 from Mk2/2a, and Mk5 from Mk3
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No. 1564 Flight RAF
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No.1564 Flight was first formed at RAF Mellaha, near Tripoli, Libya, on 1 February 1943, flying Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires, and was disbanded at Istres, France on 15 June 1946. No.1564 Flight was re-formed at RAF El Adem, Libya on 14 August 1963, flying Bristol Sycamores and Westland Whirlwinds, from an element of 103 Squadron, disbanding on 31 December 1966 at El Adem. The flight was re-formed at El Adem again on 1 May 1969, from D Flight of 202 Squadron, the unit had a variety of designations before formally adopting No.1564 Flight as its title in 1983. When the Sea King and Chinook units in the Falkland Islands were combined on the opening of RAF Mount Pleasant,1564 Flight was reformed in November 2007, by re-designating 78 Squadron on the departure of the Chinook aircraft from the Falklands. The Flight operated two Sea King HAR3 helicopters, with crews provided on rotation from Nos.22 and 202 Squadrons in the UK, the Sea Kings, however, were replaced due to the SAR privatization process. AAR Corp was awarded a contract for helicopter search and rescue services in the Falkland Islands to replace 1564 Flight, in March 2015, the UK announced that a pair of Chinooks would be stationed in the Falklands again. 1564 Flight disbanded on 31 March 2016 with a ceremony and flypast. List of Royal Air Force aircraft independent flights Military of the Falkland Islands Notes Bibliography Royal Air Force,1564 Flt
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Westland Sea King
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The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engines, British-made anti-submarine warfare systems, the Sea King was primarily designed for performing anti-submarine warfare missions. A Sea King variant was adapted by Westland as troop transport known as the Commando, in British service, the Westland Sea King provided a wide range of services in both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. The Sea King was also adapted to meet the Royal Navys requirement for an airborne early warning platform. As of 2014, the WS-61 Sea King remains in operation in Britain, as well as export customers, Germany, Norway, Egypt. Some operators have replaced, or are planning to replace, the Sea King with more modern helicopters, such as the NHIndustries NH90, on this matter, authors Jim Thorn and Gerald Frawley stated that, Despite appearances, Westlands Sea King very different aircraft from Sikorskys. Many of the differences between the Westland-built Sea King and the helicopter were as a result of differing operational doctrine. This resulted in a different crew arrangement, with operations being controlled by a rather than the pilot. The Royal Navy selected the Sea King to meet a requirement for an anti-submarine warfare helicopter to replace the Westland Wessex, the prototype and three pre-production aircraft were built by Sikorsky at Stratford, Connecticut and shipped to the United Kingdom to act as trials and pattern aircraft. The first of the SH-3Ds was initially fitted with General Electric T58s and, the other three were delivered from the docks, by road to Yeovil, for completion with British systems and Rolls-Royce Gnome engines. The first Westland-built helicopter, designated Sea King HAS1, flew on 7 May 1969 at Yeovil, by 1979, the Royal Navy had ordered 56 HAS1s and 21 HAS2s to meet the anti-submarine requirements, these were also configured for the secondary anti-ship role. The Westland Sea King was updated and adapted for numerous roles, subsequent variants include the HAS2, HAS5, changes from initial production aircraft included an expansion of the cabin and upgraded engines. One of the most extensively modified variants was the Westland Commando, the Commando had capacity for up to 28 fully equipped troops and had originally been developed to meet an Egyptian Air Force requirement. Several Royal Naval Air Squadrons have operated the Commando variant, such as 845 Naval Air Squadron,846 Naval Air Squadron and 848 Naval Air Squadron. In British service, the Sea King HC4 was deployed on operations in the Falklands, towards the end of the Sea Kings operational life, several HAS6s were repurposed by the removal of the ASW equipment, as troop transports. In 2010, the last of the UKs converted ASW Sea Kings to troop transports were retired, initial trials carried out with active Sea Kings found several advantages to the BERP rotor, including a longer fatigue life and improved aerodynamic characteristics. Subsequent Westland helicopters, such as the record-breaking Lynx and the AgustaWestland AW101 Merlin, Westland equipped later-built Sea Kings with the new composite rotors as well. Westland has produced a total of 330 Sea Kings, export customers include the Indian Naval Air Arm, the German Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Royal Norwegian Air Force
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Aerial refueling
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The procedure allows the receiving aircraft to remain airborne longer, extending its range or loiter time on station. A series of air refuelings can give range limited only by crew fatigue, alternatively, a shorter take-off roll can be achieved because take-off can be at a lighter weight before refueling once airborne. Aerial refueling has also considered as a means to reduce fuel consumption on long-distance flights greater than 3,000 nautical miles. Potential fuel savings in the range of 35-40% have been estimated for long haul flights, usually, the aircraft providing the fuel is specially designed for the task, although refueling pods can be fitted to existing aircraft designs if the probe-and-drogue system is to be used. There is no known regular civilian in-flight refueling activity, for instance, in the Gulf War and the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the Iraq War, all coalition air sorties were air-refueled except for a few short-range ground attack sorties in the Kuwait area. The first mid-air refueling, based on the development of Alexander P. de Seversky, as the 1920s progressed, greater numbers of aviation enthusiasts vied to set new aerial long-distance records, using inflight air refueling. One such enthusiast, who would revolutionize aerial refueling was Sir Alan Cobham, member of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, and a pioneer of long-distance aviation. During the 1920s, he made long-distance flights to places as far afield as Africa and Australia and this craft was eventually modified by Airspeed to Cobhams specification, for a non-stop flight from London to India, using in-flight refueling to extend the planes flight duration. Meanwhile, in 1929, a group of U. S. Army Air Corps fliers, led by then Major Carl Spaatz, set an endurance record of over 150 hours with the Question Mark over Los Angeles. Aerial refueling remained a dangerous process until 1935 when brothers Fred and Al Key demonstrated a spill-free refueling nozzle. They exceeded the Hunters record by nearly 100 hours in a Curtiss Robin monoplane, the US was mainly concerned about transatlantic flights for faster postal service between Europe and America. In 1931 W. Irving Glover, the assistant postmaster, wrote an extensive article for Popular Mechanics concerning the challenges. In his article he even mentioned the use of Aerial refueling after take off as a possible solution, by 1931 they had demonstrated refueling between two Vickers Virginias, with fuel flow controlled by an automatic valve on the hose which would cut off if contact was lost. Royal Air Force officer Richard Atcherley had observed the dangerous aerial-refueling techniques in use at barnstorming events in the US and determined to create a workable system. In 1934, Cobham sold off the airline Cobham Air Routes Ltd to Olley Air Service, atcherlys system was bought up by Cobhams company, and with some refinement and continuous improvement through the late 30s, it became the first practical refueling system. Sir Alan Cobhams Grappled-line looped-hose air-to-air refueling system borrowed from techniques patented by David Nicolson and John Lord, and was publicly demonstrated for the first time in 1935. In the system the aircraft, at one time an Airspeed Courier, trailed a steel cable which was then grappled by a line shot from the tanker. The line was drawn back into the tanker where the receivers cable was connected to the refueling hose
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