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Douglas John Bell
Captain Douglas John Bell (16 September 1893 – 27 May 1918) was a South African World War I fighter ace credited with 20 aerial victories. He was one of the first fighter pilots to successfully engage an enemy multi-engine bomber. He became the leading ace of the nine in No. 3 Squadron RAF. Early service Bell was born in South Africa, the son of Herbert Bell and of Christine (née Williams) of Johannesburg, Transvaal. He first served in the Transvaal Light Horse Regiment during the South-West Africa Campaign of 1914–1915. Bell enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps on 1 June 1916. He received his Aviator's Certificate on 22 September 1916. That same day, as a second lieutenant, he was appointed a flying officer. The following month, he was assigned to No. 27 Squadron, to fly the Martinsyde G.100. Despite the poor performance of a bomber so ungainly that it was nicknamed "The Elephant", Bell managed to score three victories flying the Martinsyde. He drove down an Albatros D.II ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WikiProject Aircraft
A WikiProject, or Wikiproject, is a Wikimedia movement affinity group for contributors with shared goals. WikiProjects are prevalent within the largest wiki, Wikipedia, and exist to varying degrees within sister projects such as Wiktionary, Wikiquote, Wikidata, and Wikisource. They also exist in different languages, and translation of articles is a form of their collaboration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, CBS News noted the role of Wikipedia's WikiProject Medicine in maintaining the accuracy of articles related to the disease. Another WikiProject that has drawn attention is WikiProject Women Scientists, which was profiled by '' Smithsonian'' for its efforts to improve coverage of women scientists which the profile noted had "helped increase the number of female scientists on Wikipedia from around 1,600 to over 5,000". On Wikipedia Some Wikipedia WikiProjects are substantial enough to engage in cooperative activities with outside organizations relevant to the field at issue. For e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars. The commission is also responsible for commemorating Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War. The commission was founded by Fabian Ware, Sir Fabian Ware and constituted through Royal Charter in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission. The change to the present name took place in 1960. The commission, as part of its mandate, is responsible for commemorating all Commonwealth war dead individually and equally. To this end, the war dead are commemorated by a name on a headstone, at an identified site of a burial, or on a memorial. War dead are commemorated uniformly and equally, irrespective of military or civil rank, race or creed. The co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quéant
Quéant () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Quéant is situated southeast of Arras, at the junction of the D14 and D22 roads. Quéant Mountain is a mountain in Canada named after the town. Population Places of interest * The church of St.Leger, rebuilt after destruction in the First World War. * The Quéant Road Cemetery, overseen by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. See also *Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department *Battle of Drocourt-Quéant Line The Drocourt-Quéant Line () was a set of mutually supporting defensive lines constructed by Germany between the French towns of Drocourt and Quéant during World War I. This defensive system was part of the northernmost section of the Hinden ... (1918) References External links CWGC.org The CWGC extension to the communal cemetery Communes of Pas-de-Calais {{Arras-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the best known fighter aircraft of the Great War. The Camel was powered by a single rotary engine and was armed with twin synchronized Vickers machine guns. Though difficult to handle, it was highly manoeuvrable in the hands of an experienced pilot, a vital attribute in the relatively low-speed, low-altitude dogfights of the era. In total, Camel pilots have been credited with downing 1,294 enemy aircraft, more than any other Allied fighter of the conflict. Towards the end of the First World War, the type also saw use as a ground-attack aircraft, partly because the capabilities of fighter aircraft on both sides had advanced rapidly and left the Camel somewhat outclassed. The main variant of the Camel was designated as the F.1. Other variants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood is a town in the Borough of Brentwood, in the county of Essex in the East of England. It is in the London commuter belt, situated 20 miles (30 km) east-north-east of Charing Cross and close by the M25 motorway. In 2017, the population of the town was estimated to be 54,885. Brentwood is a suburban town with a small shopping area and high street. Beyond this are residential developments surrounded by open countryside and woodland; some of this countryside lies within only a few hundred yards of the town centre. Since 1978, Brentwood has been Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with Roth, Bavaria, Roth in Germany and with Montbazon in France since 1994. It also has a relationship with Brentwood, Tennessee in the United States. History Etymology The name was assumed by some in the 1700s to derive from a corruption of the words 'burnt' and 'wood', with the name Burntwood still visible on some 18th-century maps. However, ''Brent (name), brent'' was the middle Engli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sint-Denijs-Westrem
Sint-Denijs-Westrem is a village in the Belgium, Belgian province of East Flanders. It is part of the city of Ghent, lying to the southwest of the city center, between Sint-Martens-Latem, De Pinte, Zwijnaarde and Afsnee. History Sint-Denijs-Westrem lies on the Roman road between Kortrijk and Ghent. Archeological digs on the Flanders Expo site have shown significant signs of settlement from prehistory through the middle ages. Accessed June 6, 2008. During the late Middle Ages the castles of Idewalle, Borluut, Darupt, Hof ten Broecke, Maaltekasteel were built in and around the Sint-Denijs-Westrem area. In 1858, architect, artisan and designer Jean-Baptiste Bethune moved his studio from Bruges to Sint-Denijs-Westrem. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Épinoy
Épinoy (; pcd, Spineu) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village situated southeast of Arras at the junction of the N43 and D21 roads. Population Places of interest * Traces of an old castle. * The church of St. Nicholas, rebuilt, as was most of the village, after World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin .... See also * Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department References External links Sucrerie CWGC cemetery at Épinoy Communes of Pas-de-Calais {{Arras-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Balloon Buster
Balloon busters were military pilots known for destroying enemy observation balloons. These pilots were noted for their fearlessness, as balloons were stationary targets able to receive heavy defenses, from the ground and the air. Seventy-seven flying aces in World War I were each credited with destroying five or more balloons, and thus were balloon aces. The crucial role of observation balloons An observation balloon was both a vulnerable and a valuable target: the balloon was moored in a stationary position and was lifted by flammable hydrogen gas, whose use was necessitated by the scarcity of helium reserves among European powers. The artillery observer, suspended in the wicker basket beneath, typically had a wireless transmitter, binoculars and/or a long-range camera. His job was to observe actions on the front-line and behind it, to spot enemy troop movements or unusual activity of any sort, and to call down artillery fire onto any worthwhile targets. Balloon observers we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than long and wide, covering . It hosts key north European shipping lanes and is a major fishery. The coast is a popular destination for recreation and tourism in bordering countries, and a rich source of energy resources, including wind and wave power. The North Sea has featured prominently in geopolitical and military affairs, particularly in Northern Europe, from the Middle Ages to the modern era. It was also important globally through the power northern Europeans projected worldwide during much of the Middle Ages and into the modern era. The North Sea was the centre of the Vikings' rise. The Hanseatic League, the Dutch Republic, and the British each sought to gain command of the North Sea and access t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gotha G
''Gothaer Waggonfabrik'' (''Gotha'', GWF) was a German manufacturer of rolling stock established in the late nineteenth century at Gotha. During the two world wars, the company expanded into aircraft building. World War I In World War I, Gotha was the manufacturer of a highly successful series of bombers based on a 1914 design by Oskar Ursinus, but heavily reimagined by Hans Burkhard. From 1917, the Burkhard-designed twin pusher biplane bomber aircraft were capable of carrying out strategic bombing missions over England, the first heavier-than-air aircraft used in this role. Several dozen of these bombers were built in a number of subtypes - the Ursinus-based Gotha G.I, and the succeeding Burkhard-designed G.II, G.III, G.IV, and G.V. This last variant was the most prolific, with thirty-six in squadron service at one point. Inter war years Whilst Germany was prohibited from military aircraft manufacture by the Treaty of Versailles, Gotha returned to its railway endeavou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sopwith 1½ Strutter
The Sopwith Strutter was a British single- or two-seat multi-role biplane aircraft of the First World War.Lake 2002, p. 40. It was the first British two-seat tractor fighter and the first British aircraft to enter service with a synchronised machine gun. It was given the name Strutter because of the long and short cabane struts that supported the top wing. The type was operated by both British air services and was in widespread but lacklustre service with the French . Design and development In December 1914, the Sopwith Aviation Company designed a small, two-seat biplane powered by an Gnome rotary engine, which became known as the "Sigrist Bus" after Fred Sigrist, the Sopwith works manager. The Sigrist Bus first flew on 5 June 1915 and although it set a new British altitude record on the day of its first flight, only one was built, serving as a company runabout.Bruce 1982, p. 499.Jarrett 2009, p. 56. The Sigrist Bus formed the basis for a new, larger, fighter aircraft, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
