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Gerhard Friedrich
Gerhard "Gerd" Friedrich (16 September 1917 – 16 March 1945) was a Luftwaffe fighter ace of World War II. He was one of night fighter ace scored 30 victories. All of his victories were recorded at night. World War II World War II in Europe began on Friday 1 September 1939 when German forces invaded Poland. Friedrich started his Luftwaffe career as a transport pilot with ''Kampfgruppe zur besonderen Verwendung'' 104 (KGr.z.b.v. 104—Fighting Group for Special Use) and participated in the invasion of Crete. Night fighter operations Following the 1939 aerial Battle of the Heligoland Bight, bombing missions by the Royal Air Force (RAF) shifted to the cover of darkness, initiating the Defence of the Reich campaign. By mid-1940, ''Generalmajor'' (Brigadier General) Josef Kammhuber had established a night air defense system dubbed the Kammhuber Line. It consisted of a series of control sectors equipped with radars and searchlights and an associated night fighter. Each se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johannisthal (Berlin)
Johannisthal () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Treptow-Köpenick. Until 2001 it was part of the former borough of Treptow. History The first mention of the locality dates from November 16, 1753. In 1880 it was served by a train station on the '' Berlin-Görlitzer Eisenbahn'' and in 1884 it was awarded by the title of ''Bad'' ( bath), becoming ''Bad Johannisthal''. From 1905 to 1906 the town hall was built, and in 1920 the "Greater Berlin Act" merged the town into Berlin. As part of East Berlin bordering Neukölln (West Berlin), its limits were crossed by the Berlin Wall from 1961 to 1989. Geography Overview Located in the south-eastern side of the city, not too far from the river Spree, Johannisthal borders the localities of Baumschulenweg, Niederschöneweide, Adlershof, Altglienicke and Rudow (this one in Neukölln district). Its urban park is the Königsheide. Subdivision Johannisthal is subdivided into 7 zones (''Ortslagen''): * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Josef Kammhuber
Josef Kammhuber (August 19, 1896 – January 25, 1986) was a career officer in the Luftwaffe and post-World War II German Air Force. During World War II, he was the first general of night fighters in the Luftwaffe. Kammhuber created the night fighter defense system, the so-called Kammhuber Line, but the detailed knowledge of the system provided to the Royal Air Force by British military intelligence allowed them to render it ineffective. Personal battles between him and Erhard Milch, director of the Reich Air Ministry, led to his dismissal in 1943. After the war, he joined the Bundeswehr, the armed forces of West Germany. Career Josef Kammhuber was born in Tüßling, Bavaria, the son of a farmer. At the outbreak of World War I Kammhuber was 18 and joined a Bavarian engineer battalion. He participated in the Battle of Verdun in 1916 and was promoted to Second Lieutenant in 1917. He remained in Germany's post-war army, and in 1925 was promoted to First Lieutenant. Between Octobe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bar-le-Duc
Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France. The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, shut in by wooded or vine-clad hills, and is traversed throughout its length by the Ornain, which is crossed by several bridges. It is limited towards the north-east by the Marne–Rhine Canal, on the south-west by a small arm of the Ornain, called the ''Canal des Usines'', on the left bank of which the upper town (''Ville Haute'') is situated. The highly rarefied Bar-le-duc jelly, also known as Lorraine jelly, is a spreadable preparation of white currant or red currant fruit preserves, hailing from this town. First referenced in the historical record in 1344, it is also colloquially referred to as "Bar caviar". History Bar-le-Duc was at one time the seat of the county, from 1354 the Duchy of Bar. Though probably of ancient origin, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom Military Aircraft Serials
United Kingdom military aircraft serial numbers are aircraft registration numbers used to identify individual military aircraft in the United Kingdom (UK). All UK military aircraft are allocated and display a unique registration number. A unified registration number system, maintained initially by the Air Ministry (AM), and its successor the Ministry of Defence (MoD), is used for aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), and Army Air Corps (AAC). Military aircraft operated by government agencies and civilian contractors (for example QinetiQ) are also assigned registration numbers from this system. When the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was formed in 1912, its aircraft were identified by a letter/number system related to the manufacturer. The prefix 'A' was allocated to balloons of No.1 Company, Air Battalion, Royal Engineers, the prefix 'B' to aeroplanes of No.2 Company, and the prefix 'F' to aeroplanes of the Central Flying School.Bruce 1956, p.922 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its origins in the twin-engine ''HP56'' proposal of the late 1930s, produced in response to the British Air Ministry's Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use." The HP56 was ordered as a backup to the Avro 679, both aircraft being designed to use the underperforming Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. The Handley Page design was altered at the Ministry to a four-engine arrangement powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine; the rival Avro 679 was produced as the twin-engine Avro Manchester which, while regarded as unsuccessful mainly due to the Vulture engine, was a direct predecessor of the famed Avro Lancaster. Both the Lancaster and the Halifax emerged as capable four-engined strategic bombers, thousands of which were bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nachtjagdgeschwader 4
''Nachtjagdgeschwader'' 4 (NJG 4) was a Luftwaffe night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 4 was formed on 18 April 1941 in Metz. The unit's objective was to counter RAF Bomber Command's strategic night-bombing offensive. The unit's commanding officers included Oberstleutnant Wolfgang Thimmig (October 1943 – November 1944) and Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer (20 November 1944 – 8 May 1945). Commanding officers ''Geschwaderkommodore'' *Major Rudolf Stoltenhoff, 18 April 1941 – 20 October 1943 *Oberstleutnant Wolfgang Thimmig, 20 October 1943 – 14 November 1944 *Major Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, 14 November 1944 – 8 May 1945 ''Gruppenkommandeur'' I. ''Gruppe'' *Major Wilhelm Herget, 1 September 1942 – December 1944 *Hauptmann Johannes Krause, December 1944 – 8 May 1945 II. ''Gruppe'' *Hauptmann Theodor Rossiwall The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes) and its variants were the highest awards in the military of the Third Reich ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ijmuiden
IJ_(digraph).html" ;"title="n IJ (digraph)">n IJ (digraph) and that should remain the only places where they are used. > IJmuiden () is a port city in the Netherlands, Dutch province of North Holland. It is the main town in the municipality of Velsen which lies mainly to the south-east. Including its large sea locks, it straddles the mouth of the North Sea Canal to Amsterdam. To the south it abuts a large reserve of plant-covered dunes, the Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. The city is on the south bank; the north bank is otherwise a steel plant and Velsen-Noord. It is north northwest of Haarlem which is due west of Amsterdam. The port is a deepwater port suited to fully laden Panamax ships, and fourth port of the Netherlands. The internal capitalization within IJmuiden is as IJ is a digraph in modern Dutch so in some typefaces recognised as a ligature which places it in one typed or handwritten space. History In the Roman era, the district was already inhabited, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its geodetic airframe fuselage structure, which was principally designed by Barnes Wallis. Development had been started in response to Air Ministry Specification B.9/32, issued in the middle of 1932, for a bomber for the Royal Air Force. This specification called for a twin-engined day bomber capable of delivering higher performance than any previous design. Other aircraft developed to the same specification include the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and the Handley Page Hampden. During the development process, performance requirements such as for the tare weight changed substantially, and the engine used was not the one originally intended. The Wellington was used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, performing as one o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nachtjagdgeschwader 1
1 (NJG 1) was a German night fighter-wing of World War II. NJG 1 was formed on 22 June 1940 and comprised four (groups). NJG 1 was created as an air defence unit for the Defence of the Reich campaign; an aerial war waged by the against the bombing of the German Reich by RAF Bomber Command and the United States Air Force. In 1941 airborne radar was introduced with radar operators, and standardised in 1942 and 1943. Consequently, a large number of German night fighter aces existed within NJG 1. NJG 1 operated all of the major twin-engine night fighters produced by German industry during the war. It fought in notable campaigns, such as the Battle of the Ruhr and Battle of Berlin. By the end of the war, lack of fuel, technical setbacks, lack of training and advances by the Allied powers rendered the night force ineffective from August 1944 until the end of the war in May 1945. NJG 1 was the most successful night fighter wing and had claimed some 2,3 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organization Of The Luftwaffe (1933–1945)
Between 1933 and 1945, the organization of the Luftwaffe underwent several changes. Originally, the German military high command, for their air warfare forces, decided to use an organizational structure similar to the army and navy, treating the aviation branch as a strategic weapon of war. Later on, during the period of rapid rearmament, the Luftwaffe was organized more in a geographical fashion. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), Germany was prohibited from having an air force, with the former German Empire's ''Luftstreitkräfte'' disbandment in 1920. German pilots were secretly trained for military aviation, first in the Soviet Union during the late 1920s, and then in Germany in the early 1930s. In Germany, the training was done under the guise of the German Air Sports Association (german: Deutscher Luftsportverband (DLV)) at the Central Commercial Pilots School (german: Zentrale der Verkehrs Fliegerschule (ZVF)). Following its 15 May 1933 formation in secret, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lichtenstein Radar
The Lichtenstein radar was among the earliest airborne radars available to the Luftwaffe in World War II and the first one used exclusively for air interception. Developed by Telefunken, it was available in at least four major revisions, called FuG 202 Lichtenstein B/C, FuG 212 Lichtenstein C-1, FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 and the very rarely used FuG 228 Lichtenstein SN-3. (FuG is short for ''Funk-Gerät'', radio set). The Lichtenstein series remained the only widely deployed airborne interception radar used by the Germans on their night fighters during the war — the competing FuG 216 through 218 ''Neptun'' mid- VHF band radar systems were meant as a potentially more versatile stop-gap system through 1944, until the microwave-based FuG 240 "Berlin" could be mass-produced; the ''Berlin'' system was still being tested when the war ended. FuG 202 Lichtenstein B/C Early FuG 202 Lichtenstein B/C units were not deployed until 1942. They operated at a maximum RF output power o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Searchlight
A searchlight (or spotlight) is an apparatus that combines an extremely bright source (traditionally a carbon arc lamp) with a mirrored parabolic reflector to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction. It is usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about. Military use The first use of searchlights using carbon arc technology occurred during the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The Royal Navy used searchlights in 1882 to dazzle and prevent Egyptian forces from manning artillery batteries at Alexandria. Later that same year, the French and British forces landed troops under searchlights. By 1907 the value of searchlights had become widely recognized. One recent use was to assist attacks by torpedo boats by dazzling gun crews on the ships being attacked. Other uses included detecting enemy ships at greater distances, as signaling devices, and to assist landing parties. Searchlights were also used by battles ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
