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Al Hake
Albert Horace Hake (30 June 1916 – 31 March 1944) was an Australian Supermarine Spitfire pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944 and was one of the men recaptured and subsequently shot by the ''Gestapo''. Pre-war life Hake was born on 30 June 1916 close to Sydney's Parramatta River and spent much of his time with his brother Les on the water on homemade rafts and boats including a night adrift in Sydney Harbour with the authorities searching for them. He was recognized at school for his talent in technical drawing and metal working, this gained entry to Sydney Technical High School for him. He was a serious student and moved directly from school into a good position with an air conditioning company, his ambition at that time was to own his own "air con" company. War service Following the outbreak of war in Europe Hake joined the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve in July 1940 and answer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ray Hanna
Raynham George Hanna, (28 August 1928 – 1 December 2005) was a New Zealand-born fighter pilot who emigrated to England to join the Royal Air Force (RAF). During his RAF career he was a founding member of the Red Arrows aerobatics display team. He also founded The Old Flying Machine Company, which commercially flies Second World War vintage fighter aircraft at air displays around the world, and for television and cinematic productions. He was a Spitfire display pilot in the latter half of the 20th century, noted for his daring aerobatic stunt flying. Early life Hanna was born at Takapuna, New Zealand, on 28 August 1928. He received his early formal education at Auckland Grammar School. As a teenager he joined the Air Training Corps in Auckland and learned to fly, receiving his first flying lessons on the Tiger Moth. Opportunities in the Royal New Zealand Air Force were limited, so he looked to the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the United Kingdom for a flying career. In 1949, at th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sydney Technical High School
Sydney Technical High School (STHS) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in Bexley, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1911 as part of Sydney Technical College, the school was one of the six original New South Wales selective schools and caters for boys from Year 7 to Year 12. The school is colloquially abbreviated to Sydney Tech, STHS or simply Tech. Admission to Year 7 is based on an external selective test held in Year 6 during March. Entrance to Years 8, 9 and 10 is based on the submission of an application form and an interview. Admission to Year 11 is based on the submission of an application form, placement tests in Mathematics and English, and an interview. Academic achievement The school consistently achieves superior results in external assessments, such as the NAPLAN, the ICAS, the Record of School Achievement, and in particular, the Year 12 Higher School Certificate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Leigh (RAF Officer)
Thomas Barker Leigh (11 February 1919 – 31 March 1944) was an Australian-born Handley Page Halifax bomber rear gunner who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and subsequently shot by the ''Gestapo''. Pre-war life Leigh was born in Waverley, Sydney, Australia, on 11 February 1919. He was the second son of a British father and an Australian mother who resided in Shanghai, China. His mother had sailed back to Australia for his birth before returning to China. She died in 1926 and their father died in 1932, but the three children had lived in England since their mother's death where they attended boarding schools and spent holidays with family friends or their guardian. On leaving school Leigh passed the entrance examination for the Training Ship ''Mercury'' near Southampton and on 30 September 1934 began to train for a life at sea. From the training ship he could se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael James Casey
Michael James Casey (19 February 1918 – 31 March 1944), was a British Blenheim bomber pilot of Irish descent who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. He took part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944, but was one of the men re-captured and subsequently shot by the Gestapo. Pre-war life Casey was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India, where his father was the inspector general of police for the entire province. Casey was educated in Clongowes Wood College near Dublin, and later at Stonyhurst College boarding school. At both places, he excelled at boxing, rugby and cricket. On finishing school, he applied for a short service commission and joined the Royal Air Force as a flight cadet at the RAF College Cranwell passing out as an acting pilot officer on 1 August 1936. He was then posted to No. 57 Squadron RAFVance (2000), p.8-9 at Upper Heyford on 24 March 1937 to fly Hawker Hind bomber aircraft. Casey was confirmed in his rank on 29 June 1937. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Cross (RAF Officer)
Ian Kingston Pembroke Cross (4 April 1918 – 31 March 1944), was a British Royal Air Force officer and bomber pilot who was taken prisoner during the Second World War. Notable for his part in the 'Great Escape' from Stalag Luft III in March 1944 when he was one of the men recaptured and subsequently murdered by the ''Gestapo''. Pre-War Ian Cross was born in Cosham, Hampshire the son of Jeannie and Pembroke Cross a successful chartered surveyor, estate agent and valuer. His older brother Kenneth later became Air Chief Marshal Sir Kenneth Cross, AOC-in-C Bomber and Transport Command RAF. Ian Cross was a frail child and had a home tutor due to his early poor health. In 1918 the family moved to Hayling Island and there his health began to improve rapidly. He was educated at Churchers School, Petersfield until 1936 where he was recognized as a track athlete and Rugby football player and as a member of the school Officer Training Corps. Ian Cross left school and followed his older bro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bakelite
Polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, better known as Bakelite ( ), is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Leo Baekeland in Yonkers, New York in 1907, and patented on December 7, 1909 (). Because of its electrical nonconductivity and heat-resistant properties, it became a great commercial success. It was used in electrical insulators, radio and telephone casings, and such diverse products as kitchenware, jewelry, pipe stems, children's toys, and firearms. The "retro" appeal of old Bakelite products has made them collectible. The creation of a synthetic plastic was revolutionary for the chemical industry, which at the time made most of its income from cloth dyes and explosives. Bakelite's commercial success inspired the industry to develop other synthetic plastics. In recognition of its significance as the world's first commercial synthet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Żagań
Żagań ( French and german: Sagan, hsb, Zahań, la, Saganum) is a town in western Poland, on the Bóbr river, with 25,731 inhabitants (2019). The town is the capital of Żagań County in the historic region of Silesia. Previously in the Zielona Góra Voivodeship (1975–1998), Żagań has been in the Lubusz Voivodeship since 1999. The town hosts the Polish 11th Armoured Cavalry Division. An American Armored Brigade Combat Team is constantly rotated through the town under Operation Atlantic Resolve. Etymology The town's name probably means "place of the burnt forest" (Polish: ''żegać'', ''żagiew''): probably referring to the burning of primaeval forest by early settlers. If this is correct, it is consistent with the names of nearby places: Żary, Zgorzelec, Pożarów. Geography Żagań is located roughly halfway between Cottbus and Wrocław, approximately 100 meters above sea level and at the centre of the Żagań administrative district. It is about north of the Polish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' (" Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Fw 190 became the backbone of the (Fighter Force) of the . The twin-row BMW 801 radial engine that powered most operational versions enabled the Fw 190 to lift larger loads than the Bf 109, allowing its use as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and to a lesser degree, night fighter. The Fw 190A started flying operationally over France in August 1941 and quickly proved superior in all but turn radius to the Spitfire Mk. V, the main front-line fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF), particularly at low and medium altitudes. The 190 maintained superiority over Allied fighters until the introduction of the improved Spitfire Mk. IX. In November/December 1942, the Fw 190 made its air combat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabteilung'' of the Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from having any air force. During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the treaty at Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union. With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the ''Luftwaffe''s existence was publicly acknowledged on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through German rearmament and conscription would be announced on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a ''Luftwaffe'' detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a valuable testing grou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Model Stalag Luft III
A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models can be divided into physical models (e.g. a model plane) and abstract models (e.g. mathematical expressions describing behavioural patterns). Abstract or conceptual models are central to philosophy of science, as almost every scientific theory effectively embeds some kind of model of the physical or human sphere. In commerce, "model" can refer to a specific design of a product as displayed in a catalogue or show room (e.g. Ford Model T), and by extension to the sold product itself. Types of models include: Physical model A physical model (most commonly referred to simply as a model but in this context distinguished from a conceptual model) is a smaller or larger physical copy of an object. The object being modelled may be small (for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kanaal, "The Channel"; german: Ärmelkanal, "Sleeve Channel" ( French: ''la Manche;'' also called the British Channel or simply the Channel) is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest shipping area in the world. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover."English Channel". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 2004. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some . The Channel was a key factor in Britain becoming a naval superpower and has been utilised by Britain as a natural def ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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