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120th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
The 120th Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment (120th LAA Rgt), was an air defence unit of the British Army's Royal Artillery during World War II. It landed on D-Day and saw action throughout the campaign in North West Europe, defending the vital Scheldt Estuary until the end of the war. Origin The regiment was formed in January 1942 from the short-lived 86th Searchlight Regiment, Royal Artillery (86th S/L Rgt) which had only been raised in the previous year as part of the rapid expansion of Anti-Aircraft Command.Farndale, Annex M. 86th Searchlight Regiment 86th S/L Regiment was formed on 23 January 1941 at Henderson Church Hall at Kilmarnock in Scotland during the height of the ''Luftwaffes night Blitz on British cities. Major J.B. Allan was posted from 52nd (Queen's Edinburgh Royal Scots) S/L Rgt and promoted to lieutenant-colonel to command the new regiment, moving the Regimental Headquarters (RHQ) to Craigie House, Ayr, where it was joined by the advance parties of three S/L batteri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of The British Army
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the maritime environment, where semaphore is used). Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families. The study of flags is known as "vexillology" from the Latin , meaning "flag" or "banner". National flags are patriotic symbols with widely varied interpretations that often include strong military associations because of their original and ongoing use for that purpose. Flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for decorative purposes. Some military units are called "flags" after their use of flags. A ''flag'' (Arabic: ) is equivalent to a brigade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saighton Camp
Saighton Camp was a military installation located between Saighton and Huntington, Cheshire, Huntington covering an area of approximately 33 hectares. History The camp was created between 1938 and 1939 for use as a military training camp during the World War II, Second World War. It was established as a basic training facility for light anti-aircraft batteries and subsequently became the primary training centre for the 233 Light Anti-Aircraft Training Regiment of the Royal Artillery. In 1949, it became Training Centre No. 12 of the Royal Pioneer Corps, and in the 1950s and early 1960s it became a training centre for the Royal Corps of Signals. The King's Own Royal Border Regiment were based at the site from 1973 to 1974, the Green Howards were based there from 1974 to 1976, the Queen's Lancashire Regiment were based there from 1976 to 1978 and the Gordon Highlanders were based there from 1978 to 1980. The King's Regiment were billeted at the camp until its closure in 1985, when the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
4th (Glasgow, 1st Northern) Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps
The 4th (Glasgow, 1st Northern) Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteer Corps was a Scottish Volunteer unit of the British Army. Originally raised in Glasgow in 1859, it later became a battalion of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles). During World War I it served at Gallipoli (where it was practically wiped out in its first action), in Egypt and Palestine, and on the Western Front. Converted into an anti-aircraft regiment just before World War II, it served throughout the war and continued in an air defence role in the postwar years until 1950. Origin The enthusiasm for the Volunteer movement following an invasion scare in 1859 saw the creation of many Rifle Volunteer Corps (RVCs) composed of part-time soldiers eager to supplement the Regular British Army in time of need. One such unit was the 4th (Glasgow, 1st Northern) Lanarkshire RVC, formed in Glasgow as one company. Its services were accepted on 10 October 1859 and on 12 December 1859 it absorbed several other RVCs formed in the Glasgo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parachute Mine
A parachute mine is a naval mine dropped from an aircraft by parachute. They were mostly used in the Second World War by the Luftwaffe and initially by the Royal Air Force (RAF) Bomber Command. Frequently, they were dropped on land targets. History Luftwaffe During the Second World War, the Luftwaffe used a number of different kinds of parachute mines. The ''Luftmine'' A (LMA) and ''Luftmine'' B (LMB) weighed and respectively. The LMA was in length and the LMB . After the parachute opened, the mine would descend at around . If it came down on land, a clockwork mechanism would detonate the mine 25 seconds after impact. If the mine landed in water it would sink to the bottom. If the depth was greater than , water pressure and the dissolving of a water–soluble plug would deactivate the clockwork time-detonator, and activate an anti-shipping detonator. These were initially magnetic detonators but later, acoustic or magnetic/acoustic detonators could be fitted. The Luftwaffe be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Home Guard (United Kingdom)
The Home Guard (initially Local Defence Volunteers or LDV) was an armed citizen militia supporting the British Army during the Second World War. Operational from 1940 to 1944, the Home Guard had 1.5 million local volunteers otherwise ineligible for military service, such as those who were too young or too old to join the regular armed services (regular military service was restricted to those aged 18 to 41) and those in reserved occupations. Excluding those already in the armed services, the civilian police or civil defence, approximately one in five men were volunteers. Their role was to act as a secondary defence force in case of invasion by the forces of Nazi Germany. The Home Guard were to try to slow down the advance of the enemy even by a few hours to give the regular troops time to regroup. They were also to defend key communication points and factories in rear areas against possible capture by paratroops or fifth columnists. A key purpose was to maintain control of the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position until 1941, when he flew solo to Scotland in an attempt to negotiate the United Kingdom's exit from the Second World War. He was taken prisoner and eventually convicted of crimes against peace. He was still serving his life sentence at the time of his suicide in 1987. Hess enlisted as an infantryman in the Imperial German Army at the outbreak of World War I. He was wounded several times during the war and was awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd Class, in 1915. Shortly before the war ended, Hess enrolled to train as an aviator, but he saw no action in that role. He left the armed forces in December 1918 with the rank of . In 1919, Hess enrolled in the University of Munich, where he studied geopolitics under Karl Haushofer, a proponent of the concept ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hispano-Suiza HS
Hispano-Suiza () is a Spanish automotive–engineering company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damian Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft engines, trucks and weapons. In 1923, its French luxury car arm became a semi-autonomous partnership with the Spanish parent company. In 1946, the Spanish parent company sold all of its Spanish automotive assets to Enasa, a Spanish state-owned vehicle manufacturer, and the French arm continued as an independent aviation engine and components manufacturer under the Hispano-Suiza name. In 1968, Hispano-Suiza was taken over by the aerospace company Snecma, which is now part of the French Safran, Safran Group. An attempt to relaunch the marque was made by the company Hispano Suiza Cars associated with the Peralada Group (owned by the Suqué Mateu family) in 2019 with a fully-electric car. History Early years In 1898, a Spanish artillery captain, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oerlikon 20 Mm Cannon
The Oerlikon 20 mm cannon is a series of autocannons, based on an original German Becker Type M2 20 mm cannon design that appeared very early in World War I. It was widely produced by Oerlikon Contraves and others, with various models employed by both Allied and Axis forces during World War II. Many versions of the cannon are still used today. Blowback-operated models History Origins During World War I, the German industrialist Reinhold Becker developed a 20 mm caliber cannon, known now as the 20 mm Becker using the advanced primer ignition blowback (API blowback) method of operation. This used a 20×70mmRB cartridge and had a cyclic rate of fire of 300 rpm. It was used on a limited scale as an aircraft gun on ''Luftstreitkräfte'' warplanes, and an anti-aircraft gun towards the end of that war. Because the Treaty of Versailles banned further production of such weapons in Germany, the patents and design works were transferred in 1919 to the Swiss firm SEMAG (''Seeba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
12th Anti-Aircraft Division (United Kingdom)
12th Anti-Aircraft Division (12th AA Division) was an air defence formation of the British Army during the early years of the Second World War. It defended Western Scotland and Northern Ireland, including the period of the Clydebank Blitz and Belfast Blitz, but only had a short career. Mobilisation The 12th Anti-Aircraft Division was one of five new divisions created on 1 November 1940 by Anti-Aircraft Command to control the expanding anti-aircraft (AA) defences of the United Kingdom. The division was formed by separating responsibility for Western Scotland (particularly the industrial areas of Clydeside and Ayrshire) and Northern Ireland from the existing 3rd AA Division, which continued to be responsible for the rest of mainland Scotland.Routledge, p. 394; Map 34.Frederick, p. 1047. The divisional headquarters (HQ) was at Glasgow and the General Officer Commanding (GOC), appointed on 15 November 1940, was Major-General Gerald Rickards, promoted from command of 44th AA Brigade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
63rd Anti-Aircraft Brigade (United Kingdom)
The 37th Anti-Aircraft Brigade was an air defence formation of Britain's Territorial Army (TA) formed just before the outbreak of the Second World War. It was engaged in defending the Thames Estuary during the war, and continued to form part of Anti-Aircraft Command in the postwar era. Origin As international tensions rose in the late 1930s, Britain's Anti-Aircraft (AA) defences were strengthened with new Royal Artillery (RA) regiments. 37th AA Brigade was raised on 1 May 1938, with its HQ at Edmonton in North London, to control some of these AA units in the London area. It was commanded by Brigadier Edward William Gravatt Wilson, MC, appointed 29 September 1938, who after he left in 1940 went on to be AA Defence Commander (AADC) Egypt.Frederick, pp. 1048–51. In 1939 37th AA Brigade joined the newly formed 6th AA Division based at Uxbridge, which had responsibility for air defence of the Thames Estuary, Essex and North Kent, and the approaches to London. Order of Battle 193 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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