|
Francis John Linnell
Air Marshal Sir Francis John Linnell, (16 March 1892 – 3 November 1944) was a senior Royal Air Force commander during the Second World War. He was Controller of Research and Development of the Ministry of Aircraft Production during the development of the Bouncing bomb, the weapon eventually employed in Operation Chastise. 'Jack' was dubbed Sir Francis in the desert in front of the British press by King George VI and posthumously appointed Commander of the Legion of Merit by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Career Francis John Linnell was born on Isle of Thanet, Margate and was educated at Bloxham School. First World War Linnell joined the Royal Naval Reserve as temporary warrant-telegraphist in September 1914, serving with the Royal Naval Air Service in France and Belgium. He learnt to fly at the Grahame-White Flying School Hendon. Flying a Grahame-White Biplane he gained Royal Aero Club Certificate No.1338 in June 1915. Flt Sub-Lt Linnell was responsible for carrying o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alfred Critchley
Air Commodore Alfred Cecil Critchley, (23 February 1890 – 9 February 1963) was a military commander, entrepreneur and politician in the United Kingdom. He served as a Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) from 1934 to 1935. Early life and military career Critchley was born in Calgary, Northwest Territories (now Alberta), Canada in 1890 and brought to England at the age of nine and attended St Bees School in Cumberland. .. His first career was a military one, initially in Lord Strathcona's Horse, a Canadian military regiment and, towards the end of the First World War, in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). He was seconded to the RFC on 4 March 1918 with the temporary rank of brigadier general at the age of only 28. Remaining in the RFC and then Royal Air Force to the end of the war, Critchley played a senior role in organising training, commanding the RFC and then RAF's Cadet Brigade. By the end of the war he had become the youngest brigadier general in the British Imperial forces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Chastise
Operation Chastise or commonly known as the Dambusters Raid was an attack on German dams carried out on the night of 16/17 May 1943 by 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, later called the Dam Busters, using special "bouncing bombs" developed by Barnes Wallis. The Möhne and Edersee dams were breached, causing catastrophic flooding of the Ruhr valley and of villages in the Eder valley; the Sorpe Dam sustained only minor damage. Two hydroelectric power stations were destroyed and several more damaged. Factories and mines were also damaged and destroyed. An estimated 1,600 civilians – about 600 Germans and 1,000 forced labourers, mainly Soviet – were killed by the flooding. Despite rapid repairs by the Germans, production did not return to normal until September. The RAF lost 53 aircrew killed and 3 captured, with 8 aircraft destroyed. Background Before the Second World War, the British Air Ministry had identified the industrialised Ruhr Valley, especially its dams, as import ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mentioned In Despatches
To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy is described. In some countries, a service member's name must be mentioned in dispatches as a condition for receiving certain decorations. United Kingdom, British Empire, and Commonwealth of Nations Servicemen and women of the British Empire or the Commonwealth who are mentioned in despatches (MiD) are not awarded a medal for their actions, but receive a certificate and wear an oak leaf device on the ribbon of the appropriate campaign medal. A smaller version of the oak leaf device is attached to the ribbon when worn alone. Prior to 2014, only one device could be worn on a ribbon, irrespective of the number of times the recipient was mentioned in despatches. Where no campaign medal is awarded, the oak leaf is worn direc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Fleet
The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from the First Fleet and part of the Second Fleet of the Home Fleets, the Grand Fleet included 25–35 modern capital ships. It was commanded initially by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe.Heathcote, p. 130 The 10th Cruiser Squadron carried out the Northern Patrol between the Shetlands and Norway and cruisers from Cromarty and Rosyth operated a second line (and screened the fleet) in enforcing the blockade of Germany. The administrative complications of the distant blockade across the northern exits of the North Sea overwhelmed the capacity of Vice Admiral Francis Miller, the Base Admiral in Chief from 7 August 1914, devolving on the commander in chief, Admiral John Jellicoe. To relieve the administrative burdens on Miller and Jellicoe, the post of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Aero Club
The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was founded in 1901 by Frank Hedges Butler, his daughter Vera and the Hon Charles Rolls (one of the founders of Rolls-Royce), partly inspired by the Aero Club of France. It was initially concerned more with ballooning but after the demonstrations of heavier-than air flight made by the Wright Brothers in France in 1908, it embraced the aeroplane. The original club constitution declared that it was dedicated to 'the encouragement of aero auto-mobilism and ballooning as a sport.' As founded, it was primarily a London gentlemen's club, but gradually moved on to a more regulatory role. It had a clubhouse at 119 Piccadilly, which it retained until 1961.Anthony Lejeune, ''The Gentlemen's Clubs of London'' (London, 1978) p.178 The club was granted its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage over a monoplane, it produces more drag than a monoplane wing. Improved structural techniques, better materials and higher speeds made the biplane configuration obsolete for most purposes by the late 1930s. Biplanes offer several advantages over conventional cantilever monoplane designs: they permit lighter wing structures, low wing loading and smaller span for a given wing area. However, interference between the airflow over each wing increases drag substantially, and biplanes generally need extensive bracing, which causes additional drag. Biplanes are distinguished from tandem wing arrangements, where the wings are placed forward and aft, instead of above and below. The term is also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hendon
Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Greater London since 1965. Hendon falls almost entirely within the NW4 postcode, while the West Hendon part falls in NW9. Colindale to the north-west was once considered part of Hendon but is today separated by the M1 motorway. The district is most famous for the London Aerodrome which later became the RAF Hendon; from 1972 the site of the RAF station was gradually handed over to the RAF Museum. The railways reached Hendon in 1868 with Hendon station on the Midland Main Line, followed by the London Underground further east under the name Hendon Central in 1923. Brent Street emerged as its commercial centre by the 1890s. A social polarity was developed between the uphill areas of Hendon and the lowlands around the railway station. Hendon is l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grahame-White
Grahame-White was an early British aircraft manufacturer, flying school and later manufacturer of cyclecars. The company was established as ''Grahame-White Aviation Company'' by Claude Grahame-White at Hendon in 1911. The firm built mostly aircraft of its own design, including the successful Type XV, but during World War I produced Morane-Saulnier types under licence for the British military. The company ceased aircraft manufacturing operations in 1920. In the same year the company was renamed ''Grahame-White Company Ltd.'' and manufactured cyclecars until 1924 when the company ceased its operations completely. Aircraft * Grahame-White Baby * Grahame-White Type VI * Grahame-White Type VII Popular * Grahame-White Type X Charabanc * Grahame-White Type XI * Grahame-White Type XIII Circuit of Britain biplane/scout * Grahame-White Type XV * Grahame-White Type 18 * Grahame-White G.W.19 (License-built Breguet Bre.5) * Grahame-White Type 20 Scout (Prototype only) * Grahame-White T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force (RAF), the world's first independent air force. It was replaced by the Fleet Air Arm, initially consisting of those RAF units that normally operated from ships, but emerging as a separate unit similar to the original RNAS by the time of World War 2. Background In 1908, the British Government recognised the military potential of aircraft. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister, H. H. Asquith, approved the formation of an "Advisory Committee for Aeronautics" and an "Aerial Sub-Committee of the Committee of Imperial Defence". Both committees were composed of politicians, British Army, army officers and Royal Navy officers. On 21 July 1908 Captain Reginald Bacon, who was a member of the Aerial Na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Naval Reserve
The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Royal Naval Reserve, created in 1859, and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR), created in 1903. The Royal Naval Reserve has seen action in World War I, World War II, the Iraq War, and War in Afghanistan. History Establishment The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) has its origins in the Register of Seamen, established in 1835 to identify men for naval service in the event of war, although just 400 volunteered for duty in the Crimean War in 1854 out of 250,000 on the Register. This led to a Royal Commission on Manning the Navy in 1858, which in turn led to the Naval Reserve Act of 1859. This established the RNR as a reserve of professional seamen from the British Merchant Navy and fishing fleets, who could be called upon during times of war ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Oxford Times
''The Oxford Times'' is a weekly newspaper, published each Thursday in Oxford, England. Originally a broadsheet, it switched to the compact format in 2008. The paper is published from a large production facility at Osney Mead, west Oxford, and is owned by Newsquest, the UK subsidiary of US-based Gannett Company. ''The Oxford Times'' has a number of colour supplements. ''Oxfordshire Limited Edition'' is included with the first edition of each month. There is also a monthly ''In Business'' supplement. ''The Oxford Times'' has several sister publications: *''The Herald Series'' – a set of weekly newspapers covering Abingdon, Wantage, Wallingford and Didcot. *''Witney Gazette'' – a weekly newspaper covering Witney and Carterton. *''Bicester Advertiser'' – a weekly newspaper covering Bicester. *'' Banbury Cake'' – a free weekly newspaper for the Banbury area. *''Oxford Star'' – a free weekly newspaper which ran from 1976 to 2013; *''Oxford Mail'' – a daily newspa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bloxham School
Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is an Independent school (UK), independent co-educational day and boarding school of the public school (UK), British public school tradition, located in the village of Bloxham, three miles (5 km) from the town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, England. The present school was founded in 1860 by Philip Reginald Egerton and has since become a member of the Woodard Schools, Woodard Corporation. The current headmaster is Paul Sanderson, who took over from Mark Allbrook in 2013. The school has approximately 515 pupils. Founded as a school of the Oxford Movement, Bloxham is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. History Hewett's school The original school on the site in the north of the village of Bloxham was founded in 1853 by John William Hewett (hymnist), John William Hewett (1824-1886), a local Anglo-Catholic curate.Old Bloxhamist Society, 'J. W. Hewett:1853-1857', ''A History of Bloxham School'' (H.E. Boddy & Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_16_-_17_May_1943_C(AM)1603.jpg "Click for more on -> Operation Chastise")
_Oak_Leaf_Cluster.jpg "Click for more on -> Mentioned In Despatches")
_United_Kingdom_Car_Badge.jpg "Click for more on -> Royal Aero Club"){kind=icon}
.jpg "Click for more on -> Biplane")
_(cropped).jpg "Click for more on -> Grahame-White")
