|
Freddie Sowrey
Air Marshal Sir Frederick Beresford Sowrey, (14 September 1922 – 24 July 2019) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as Director of Defence Policy at the Ministry of Defence from 1968 to 1970, and Commandant of the National Defence College from 1972 to 1975. Early life Sowrey was born on 14 September 1922 to Group Captain Frederick Sowrey. He was educated at Charterhouse, a public school in Godalming, Surrey. RAF career Second World War Sowrey was commissioned into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve General Duties Branch on 24 August 1941 as a pilot officer on probation (emergency). He was given the service number 107942. He received his pilot training in Canada, and joined No. 26 Squadron RAF in March 1942 flying P-51 Mustangs. On 20 August 1942, his commission was confirmed and he was promoted to flying officer (war substantive). From 1942 to 1944, he undertook aerial reconnaissance in the European theatre. On 20 August 1943, he was promoted to fl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter aircraft, fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kindelberger of North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The Purchasing Commission approached North American Aviation to build Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, North American Aviation proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The prototype NA-73X airframe was rolled out on 9 September 1940, 102 days after the contract was signed, and first flew on 26 October. The Mustang was designed to use the Allison V-1710 engine, which had limited high-altitude performance in its earlier variants. The aircraft was first flown operationally by the RAF a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Staff College, Bracknell
The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air Force staff college active for most of the second half of the 20th century. Its role was the training of staff officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. Its motto was ''Visu et Nisu'' which is Latin for ''by vision and effort''. The equivalent in the British Army was the Staff College, Camberley and the equivalent in the Royal Navy was the Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich. History Ramslade House was built as suburban-style villa in 1840 and then substantially re-modelled by Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Mackenzie in 1895. The house became the headquarters for Second Tactical Air Force in 1943 during the Second World War. The Staff College at Bracknell was formed by transferring a major portion of the Staff College at Bulstrode Park to Ramslade House in July 1945. Air Vice-Marshal Ronald Graham, the then Commandant at Bulstrode Park, became the first commandant at Bracknell. On 1 Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1954 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1954 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1954 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1954.Pakistan list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, ''etc.'') and then divisions (Military, Civil, ''etc.'') as appropriate. United Kingdom Viscount *The Right Honourable Frederick James, Baron Leathers, CH, Secretary of State for the Co-ordination of Transport, Fuel & Power, 1951–1953, Minister of War Transport, 1941–1945. Baron *The Right Honourable Leslie Hore-Belisha, Member of Parliament for Devonport, 1923–1945; Minister of Transport, 1934–1937; Secretary of State for War, 1937–1940; Member of War Cabinet, 1939–1940; Minister of National Insurance, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Officer Commanding
The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, the term commanding officer is applied to commanders of minor as well as major units. Normally an officer commanding is a company, squadron or battery commander (typically a major, although formerly a captain in infantry and cavalry units). However, the commanders of independent units of smaller than company size, detachments and administrative organisations, such as schools or wings, may also be designated officers commanding. The term "officer commanding" is not applied to every officer who is given command of a minor unit. For example, a platoon commander whose platoon is part of a company would not be an officer commanding. The officer commanding with power over that platoon would be the company OC. "Officer commanding" is an appoint ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. An air force squadron leader ranks above flight lieutenant and immediately below wing commander and it is the most junior of the senior officer ranks. The air force rank of squadron leader has a NATO ranking code of OF-3, equivalent to a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy or a major in the British Army or the Royal Marines. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (until 1980) was "squadron officer". Squadron leader has also been used as a cavalry command appointment (UK) and rank (France) since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Auxiliary Air Force
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces (Reserve Forces Act 1996, Part 1, Para 1,(2),(c)). It provides a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service, and consists of paid volunteers who give up some of their weekends, evenings and holidays to train at one of a number of squadrons around the United Kingdom. Its current mission is to provide trained personnel in support of the regular RAF. Formation The Royal Auxiliary Air Force owes its origin to Lord Trenchard's vision of an elite corps of civilians who would serve their country in flying squadrons in their spare time. Instituted by Order in Council on 9 October 1924, the first Auxiliary Air Force squadrons were formed the following year. The pilots of AAF squadrons were generally formed from the wealthier classes, as applicants were expected to already have, or be prepared to obtain, their ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Allied Airborne Army
The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary Force and controlled all Allied airborne forces in Western Europe from August 1944 to May 1945. These included the U.S. IX Troop Carrier Command, the U.S. XVIII Airborne Corps, which controlled the 17th, 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions and a number of independent airborne units, all British airborne forces including the 1st and 6th Airborne Division plus the Polish 1st Parachute Brigade. From the time of its creation until the end of World War II, the formation commanded the Allied airborne forces that participated in the Allied advance through North-West Europe, including Operation Market-Garden in September 1944, repelling the German counter-offensive launched during the Battle of the Bulge between December 1944 and January 1945, and Op ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AIM25
AIM25 is a non-profit making collaborative archive project; a single point of networked access to collection level descriptions of the archives of over one hundred higher education institutions, learned societies and specialist archives within the M25 Greater London area of the United Kingdom. It holds over 7500 collection level descriptions on subjects including social sciences, politics, social and economic history, women's history and military history. Each description on AIM25 provides a link to ARCHON which gives contact details of the repository holding that archive. AIM25 follows ISAD(G) and is interoperable with Encoded Archival Description, Open Archives Initiative and Dublin Core. AIM25 is based at King's College London and is freely available to all. Partner institutions update the records for their holdings and collection level descriptions are indexed at King's College London using personal, corporate, place names and subject thesauri. AIM25 is freely available and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flying Instructors School
The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at RAF Little Rissington from 1946 to 1976. Its motto is ''Imprimis Praecepta'', Latin for "The Teaching is Everlasting". The school currently manages a series of training squadrons and the RAF Display Team. History The Central Flying School was established by the Royal Navy at Upavon Aerodrome, near Upavon, Wiltshire, on 12 May 1912. The school's strength at the outset was ten Staff Officers and eighty flying students, whose course lasted for sixteen weeks.Hugh Soar, ''Straight & True'' (2012), p. 87 Its first commandant was Captain Godfrey Paine RN, and it also trained pilots for the Royal Flying Corps, created in 1912, and the Royal Naval Air Service, 1914–1918. The school was transferred from the Southern Training Bridge to HQ Tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and RAF, and as FLTLT in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and has sometimes also been abbreviated as F/L in many services; it has never been correctly abbreviated as "lieutenant". A flight lieutenant ranks above flying officer and below a squadron leader and is sometimes used as an English language translation of a similar rank in non-English-speaking countries. The rank originated in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in 1914. It fell into abeyance when the RNAS merged with the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War but was revived in 1919 in the post-war RAF. An RAF flight lieutenant is the equivalent of a lieutenant in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Theatre Of World War II
The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Nazi Germany, Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and end of World War II in Europe, ending with the Western allies, Western Allies conquering most of Western Europe, the Soviet Union conquering most of Eastern Europe and German Instrument of Surrender, Germany's unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945 (9 May in the Soviet Union) but the fighting on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern front continued until 11 May during the Prague offensive and the end of the Battle of Odzak on 25 May. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers fought the Axis powers on two major fronts (Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front and Western Front (World War II), Western Front) as well as in a Bombings of Germany, strategic bombing offensive and in the adjoining Mediterranean and Middle East ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
