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54 Air-Sea Rescue Marine Craft Unit RAF
54 Air-Sea Rescue Marine Craft Unit was a Royal Air Force Air-Sea Rescue Unit based on the Isle of Man which operated watercraft in support of RAF operations. The unit was active from the outbreak of the Second World War until the 1960s and consisted of RAF rescue launches being based around the Island at its priciple ports; Douglas, Castletown, Peel and Ramsey.''Ramsey Courier'', Friday, October 19, 1945; Page: 3 History Part of the development of RAF Jurby saw the creation of an RAF boat station at Ramsey. Air Ministry officials visited Ramsey in September 1938 as final plans for the station were drawn up. The station comprised a slipway and a boathouse with accommodation for 30 personnel. Two plots of land were required for the construction of the slipway and boathouse, the land concerned being on North Shore Road. The purpose of the station was to provide boats for the towing of the targets to be used in the bombing ranges and also to provide protection for the ranges. W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force Station
The Royal Air Force (RAF) operates several stations throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. This includes front-line and training air bases, support, administrative and training stations with no flying activity, unmanned airfields used for training, intelligence gathering stations and an early warning radar network. The list also includes RAF stations operated by the United States Visiting Forces, former RAF stations now operated by defence contractor QinetiQ on behalf the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and air weapons ranges operated by the MOD. Overseas, the RAF operates airfields at four Permanent Joint Operating Bases (PJOBs) which are located in British Overseas Territories. RAF stations and MOD airfields in the UK Royal Air Force RAF front-line operations are centred on seven main operating bases (MOBs): * RAF Coningsby, RAF Marham and RAF Lossiemouth (Air Combat) * RAF Waddington ( Combat Intelligence, Surveillance Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) * RAF ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical British influence, including many Commonwealth countries but not including Canada (since Unification) and South Africa. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. It ranks immediately above squadron leader and immediately below group captain. It has a NATO ranking code of OF-4. It is equivalent to commander in the Royal and United States Navies, as well as to lieutenant colonel in the British Army, the Royal Marines, and the United States Army, Air Force and Marine Corps. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and the Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and in Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (until 1980) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westland Sea King
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 (derived from the US General Electric T58), British-made anti-submarine warfare systems and a fully computerised flight control system. The Sea King was primarily designed for performing anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions. A Sea King variant known as the Commando was devised by Westland to serve as a troop transport. In British service, the Westland Sea King provided a wide range of services in both the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. As well as wartime roles in the Falklands War, the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War, the Sea King is perhaps most well known in its capacity as a Royal Navy Search and Rescue (red and grey livery) and RAF Search and Rescue Force (yellow livery) helicopter. The S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Westland Wessex
The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes from Sikorsky's H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine. Early models were powered by a single Napier Gazelle engine, while later builds used a pair of de Havilland Gnome engines. The Wessex was initially produced for the Royal Navy (RN) and later for the Royal Air Force (RAF); a limited number of civilian aircraft were also produced, as well as some export sales. The Wessex operated as an anti-submarine warfare and utility helicopter; it is perhaps best recognised for its use as a search and rescue (SAR) helicopter. The type entered operational service in 1961, and had a service life in excess of 40 years before being retired in Britain. Design and development In 1956, an American-built S-58 wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Queen's Pier, Ramsey
Queen's Pier, Ramsey is long and was built for the Isle of Man Harbour Board for the sum of £40,752 (about £4.3 million in today's terms) by Head Wrightson of Stockton-on-Tees, England. The designer was Sir John Coode, who later became president of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Construction work began in 1882 and the pier was officially opened on 22 July 1886 by Rowley Hill, Bishop of Sodor and Man, though it had already been in use for about one year whilst being finished. The pier was originally intended as a landing stage to allow Steam Packet ships to pick up or discharge passengers when the tide was low. At low water spring tides one could expect about at the pier head, enough for ships of about in length to pick up their passengers. Tramway The builders installed a tramway on the pier to help transport building materials to the end of the pier. The tramway was intended to be dismantled once the pier was completed. However, Sir John added some passing loops ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canadians
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''Canadian''. Canada is a multilingual and Multiculturalism, multicultural society home to people of groups of many different ethnic, religious, and national origins, with the majority of the population made up of Old World Immigration to Canada, immigrants and their descendants. Following the initial period of New France, French and then the much larger British colonization of the Americas, British colonization, different waves (or peaks) of immigration and settlement of non-indigenous peoples took place over the course of nearly two centuries and continue today. Elements of Indigenous, French, British, and more recent immigrant customs, languages, and religions have combined to form the culture of Canada, and thus a Canadian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force Marine Branch
The Marine Branch (1918-1986) was a branch of the Royal Air Force (RAF) which operated watercraft in support of RAF operations. Just days after the creation of the RAF itself, the Marine Craft Section (MCS) was created with the transfer of Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) vessels and personnel to the new service. Originally tasked with the support of RNAS, and later RAF, seaplanes, Marine Craft Section was to achieve its greatest size during the World War II, Second World War, and achieved fame for its role in air-sea rescue operations. After the war MCS was granted full branch status on 11 December 1947, however post war the role of the new branch became greatly reduced with the end of the British Empire, the withdrawal of flying boats from service, and the increasing use of helicopters in air-sea rescue. The branch was disestablished on 8 January 1986. History Formation In 1918 the RAF was established through the merging of the aviation arms of the Royal Navy, the Royal Navy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coastguard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with search and rescue without law enforcement authority. In most countries, a typical coast guard's functions are distinct from those of the navy (a military service) and the transit police (a law enforcement agency), while in certain countries has similarities to both. History The predecessor of the United Kingdom's modern His Majesty's Coastguard was established in 1809 as the Waterguard, a department of the HM Customs and Excise authority, which was originally devoted to the prevention of smuggling. At the time, due to high UK taxation on liquors such as brandy, and on tobacco etc., smuggling of such cargoes from places such as France, Belgium, and Holland was an attractive proposition for many; t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maughold Head
Maughold Head is the easternmost point of the Isle of Man and the closest point in the Isle of Man to England, being from St. Bees Head in Cumbria. Maughold Head lies in the northeast of the island, some from Ramsey, at the southern end of Ramsey Bay. Maughold Head lighthouse Located at the very end of the headland is the Maughold Head Lighthouse which was built in 1914. Although now unmanned, it continues to be operated by the Northern Lighthouse Board The Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB) is the general lighthouse authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man. It is a non-departmental public body responsible for marine navigation aids around coastal areas. History The NLB was formed by Act of P .... References External links Isle of Man government website about Maughold Head * [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its geodetic airframe fuselage structure, which was principally designed by Barnes Wallis. Development had been started in response to Air Ministry Specification B.9/32, issued in the middle of 1932, for a bomber for the Royal Air Force. This specification called for a twin-engined day bomber capable of delivering higher performance than any previous design. Other aircraft developed to the same specification include the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and the Handley Page Hampden. During the development process, performance requirements such as for the tare weight changed substantially, and the engine used was not the one originally intended. The Wellington was used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, performing as one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air-sea Rescue
Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and International Maritime Organization, IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their seagoing vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships. Specialized equipment and techniques have been developed. Both military and civilian units can perform air-sea rescue. Its principles are laid out in the International Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue Manual. The International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue is the legal framework that applies to international air-sea rescue. Air-sea rescue operations carried out during times of conflict have been credited with saving valuable trained and experienced airmen. Moreover, the knowledge that such operations are being carried o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, and over six thousand smaller islands."British Isles", ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. They have a total area of and a combined population of almost 72 million, and include two sovereign states, the Republic of Ireland (which covers roughly five-sixths of Ireland), and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Channel Islands, off the north coast of France, are normally taken to be part of the British Isles, even though they do not form part of the archipelago. The oldest rocks are 2.7 billion years old and are found in Ireland, Wales and the northwest of Scotland. During the Silurian period, the north-western regions collided with the south-east, which had been part of a separate continental landmass. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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