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Dinghy Young
Squadron Leader Henry Melvin "Dinghy" Young, (20 May 1915 – 17 May 1943) was a bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War. Early life Young was born in Belgravia, London, to Henry George Melvin Young, a British solicitor, and Fannie Rowan Young. He was educated at Amesbury School in Hindhead, Westminster School class of 1933, Kent School in Kent, Connecticut class of 1932, and Trinity College, Oxford, where he was part of the winning crew of the 1938 Boat Race. Though going normally by the name Melvin, he acquired the nickname "Dinghy" after coming down in the sea twice and surviving in inflatable dinghies. Royal Air Force service Young qualified as a pilot as a member of the Oxford University Air Squadron, although the officer who trained him described him as "not a natural pilot". He joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in 1938. After the outbreak of war in 1939, he began operational training. In June 1940, he joined No. 102 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belgravia
Belgravia () is a Districts of London, district in Central London, covering parts of the areas of both the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Belgravia was known as the 'Five Fields' Tudor Period, during the Tudor Period, and became a dangerous place due to Highwayman, highwaymen and robberies. It was developed in the early 19th century by Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster under the direction of Thomas Cubitt, focusing on numerous grand terraces centred on Belgrave Square and Eaton Square. Much of Belgravia, known as the Grosvenor Group#The Grosvenor Estate, Grosvenor Estate, is still owned by a family property company, the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Group, although owing to the Leasehold Reform Act 1967, the estate has been forced to sell many Freehold (law), freeholds to its former tenants. Geography Belgravia is near the former course of the River Westbourne, a tributary of the River Thames. The area is mostly in the Cit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oxford University Air Squadron
The Oxford University Air Squadron, abbreviated Oxford UAS, or OUAS, formed in 1925, is the training unit of the Royal Air Force at the University of Oxford and forms part of the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. OUAS is one of fifteen University Air Squadrons that are spread out across Great Britain and it recruits from the universities at Oxford (Oxford University and Oxford Brookes) and Reading University. Present day University Air Squadrons offer basic flying training and adventure training to undergraduates and graduates and encourage members to take up a career as an officer in one of the branches of the Royal Air Force. Some members of OUAS hold the title of Officer Cadet, which carries the privileges, but not the rank, of a commissioned officer, while some other members are also granted commissions in the RAF Volunteer Reserve, with the rank of Acting Pilot Officer. Officer Cadets are required to attend a minimum of one training night a week during full term, usually ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Brownlow Martin
Air Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan "Micky" Martin, (27 February 1918 – 3 November 1988) was an Australian bomber pilot and senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF). He took part in Operation Chastise, the RAF's "Dambusters" raid in 1943, and was described by journalist Sir Max Hastings as "one of the three great bomber pilots of the war". He rose to become a senior officer in the RAF, commanding RAF Germany and later serving as Air Member for Personnel, a member of the Air Council, the RAF's controlling body. Early life Born on 27 February 1918 in Edgecliff, New South Wales, Martin left Australia for the United Kingdom in 1939. He intended to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but instead volunteered to join the Royal Air Force (RAF) on 28 August 1940. Military career Second World War Martin commenced his operational career with No. 455 Squadron RAAF in October 1941, flying the Handley Page Hampden. In February 1942, he captained the first all-Australian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guy Gibson
Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, (12 August 1918 – 19 September 1944) was a distinguished bomber pilot in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He was the first Commanding Officer of No. 617 Squadron, which he led in the "Dam Busters" raid in 1943, resulting in the breaching of two large dams in the Ruhr area of Germany. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces, in the aftermath of the raid in May 1943 and became the most highly decorated British serviceman at that time. He completed over 170 war operations before dying in action at the age of 26. Early life and education Gibson was born in Simla, British India, on 12 August 1918, the son of Alexander James Gibson and his wife Leonora ("Nora") Mary Gibson. At the time of Gibson's birth, his father was an officer in the Imperial Indian Forestry Service, becoming the Chief Conservator of Forests for the Sim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second In Command
''Second in Command'' is a 2006 American action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and directed by Simon Fellows. The film was released direct-to-DVD in the United States on May 2, 2006. Plot Commander Sam Keenan (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a decorated US Navy SEAL, is sent to the Eastern European nation of Moldavia to become the new security attaché at the US Embassy. When he arrives, Keenan learns that Moldavia is in the middle of a civil war. At the embassy, Keenan meets with Ambassador George Norland (Colin Stinton), who designates Keenan as his "second in command" despite the traditional diplomatic hierarchy, which is contested by others afterward. Recently, the US installed a new government in Moldavia, which is led by Moldavia's newly elected president Yuri Amirev (Serban Celea). Amirev wants the nation to be run as a democratic republic, but under the command of Anton Tavarov (Velibor Topić), communist insurgents have caused a riot at the presidential palace, threatening ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Möhne Reservoir
The Möhne Reservoir, or Moehne Reservoir, is an artificial lake in North Rhine-Westphalia, some 45 km east of Dortmund, Germany. The lake is formed by the damming of two rivers, Möhne and Heve, and with its four basins stores as much as 135 million cubic metres of water. History Construction and inauguration In 1904, calculations about the future demand for water for people and industry in the growing Ruhr-area determined that the existing storage volume of 32.4 million m³ in dams of the Ruhr river system needed tripling. Thus, on 28 November 1904, the general assembly of the ''Ruhrtalsperreverein'' decided to construct additional dams. During 1908 to 1913 they built the Möhnetalsperre at a cost of 23.5 million marks. When opened, the dam was the largest dam in Europe. 140 homesteads with 700 people had to move. It was built to help control floods, regulate water levels on the Ruhr river downstream, and generate hydropower. Today, the lake is also a tourist attract ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sergeant
Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other units that draw their heritage from the British light infantry. Its origin is the Latin , 'one who serves', through the French term . The term ''sergeant'' refers to a non-commissioned officer placed above the rank of a corporal, and a police officer immediately below a lieutenant in the US, and below an inspector in the UK. In most armies, the rank of sergeant corresponds to command of a squad (or section). In Commonwealth armies, it is a more senior rank, corresponding roughly to a platoon second-in-command. In the United States Army, sergeant is a more junior rank corresponding to a squad- (12 person) or platoon- (36 person) leader. More senior non-commissioned ranks are often variations on sergeant, for example staff sergeant, gunn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bombardier (air Force)
A bombardier or bomb aimer is the crew member of a bomber aircraft responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs. "Bomb aimer" was the preferred term in the military forces of the Commonwealth, while "bombardier" (from the French word for "bomb thrower" and similar in meaning to "grenadier") was the equivalent position in the United States Armed Forces. In many planes, the bombardier took control of the airplane during the bombing run, using a device such as the Norden bombsight which was connected to the autopilot of the plane. Often stationed in the extreme front of the aircraft, on the way to the target and after releasing the bombs, he could also serve as the front gunner in aircraft that had a front turret. In the latter part of the 20th century, the title of bombardier fell into disuse, due largely to changes in technology, emanating from the replacement of this manual function with the development of computerized technology and smart bombs, that has given rise to ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruhr Valley
The Ruhr ( ; german: Ruhrgebiet , also ''Ruhrpott'' ), also referred to as the Ruhr area, sometimes Ruhr district, Ruhr region, or Ruhr valley, is a polycentric urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population density of 2,800/km2 and a population of over 5 million (2017), it is the largest urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ... in Germany. It consists of several large cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr (river), Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe (river), Lippe to the north. In the southwest it borders the Bergisches Land. It is considered part of the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan regions in Germany, metropolitan region of more than 10 million people, which is the third largest in Europe, behind only London and Paris. The Ruhr c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
