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Helmut Woltersdorf
Helmut Woltersdorf (15 November 1915 – 2 June 1942) was a German Luftwaffe flying ace and night fighter ace of the World War II. Woltersdorf is credited with 24 victories, including 20 Royal Air Force (RAF) bomber aircraft. Woltersdorf claimed eight victories as ''Zerstörer'' (destroyer or heavy fighter) pilot operating the Messerschmitt Bf 110 and 16 as a night fighter pilot—including 15 at night and one in daylight. Woltersdorf also flew Dornier Do 215 night fighter. World War II Woltersdorf initially joined II. ''Gruppe'' (2nd Group) ''Zerstörergeschwader 141'' (Destroyer Wing 141), based at Padubitz until May 1939, when it was renamed I. ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 76. Woltersdorf made his first claim on 2 September 1939 over Poland during the German invasion when he escorted Dornier Do 17s he shot down a Polish Air Force PZL P.11 fighter. He was to score his second victory against this type on 9 September. During the Norwegian Campaign, in April 1940, Woltersdorf scored ...
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Friedberg, Germany
Friedberg (; official name: ''Friedberg (Hessen)'') is a town and the capital of the Wetteraukreis district, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 26 km (16 miles) north of Frankfurt am Main. In 1966, the town hosted the sixth ''Hessentag'' state festival, in 1979 the 19th. Division of the town The town consists of 7 districts: * Bruchenbrücken * Friedberg * Dorheim * Ockstadt * Bauernheim * Fauerbach * Ossenheim History The old city was refounded by the Hohenstaufen dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire, conveniently located at important trading routes. The city initially rivaled Frankfurt am Main economically, with an important annual trading fair, and initial rapid expansion, though its economic fortunes soon dwindled. City tranquility was hampered by continuous rivalry between the two entities that made up Friedberg: The city and the castle of Friedberg that were politically independent from each other and in permanent competition, often quite maliciously, resulting in bitter rivalr ...
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Bomber Aircraft
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped from an aircraft occurred in the Italo-Turkish War, with the first major deployments coming in the First World War and Second World War by all major airforces causing devastating damage to cities, towns, and rural areas. The first purpose built bombers were the Italian Caproni Ca 30 and British Bristol T.B.8, both of 1913. Some bombers were decorated with nose art or victory markings. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strategic bombing is done by heavy bombers primarily designed for long-range bombing missions against strategic targets to diminish the enemy's ability to wage war by limiting access to resources through crippling infrastructure or reducing industrial output. Tactical bombing is aimed at countering ene ...
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Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griffon engined Mk 24 using several wing configurations and guns. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire remains popular among enthusiasts; around 70 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world. The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell developed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing with innovative sunken rivets (designed by Beverley Shenstone) to have the thinnest possible cross-section, achieving a potential top speed greater than that of several contemporary figh ...
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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 ...
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Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of Norway. Bouvet Island, located in the Subantarctic, is a dependency of Norway; it also lays claims to the Antarctic territories of Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land. The capital and largest city in Norway is Oslo. Norway has a total area of and had a population of 5,425,270 in January 2022. The country shares a long eastern border with Sweden at a length of . It is bordered by Finland and Russia to the northeast and the Skagerrak strait to the south, on the other side of which are Denmark and the United Kingdom. Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. The maritime influence dominates Norway's climate, with mild lowland temperatures on the se ...
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Stavanger
Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the administrative center of Rogaland county. The municipality is the fourth most populous in Norway. Located on the Stavanger Peninsula in southwest Norway, Stavanger counts its official founding year as 1125, the year the Stavanger Cathedral was completed. Stavanger's core is to a large degree 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses that are protected and considered part of the city's cultural heritage. This has caused the town center and inner city to retain a small-town character with an unusually high ratio of detached houses, and has contributed significantly to spreading the city's population growth to outlying parts of Greater Stavanger. The city's population rapidly grew in the late 20th century due to its oil industry. Stavanger is known ...
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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 ...
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PZL P
PZL (''Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze'' - State Aviation Works) was the main Polish aerospace manufacturer of the interwar period, and a brand of their aircraft. Based in Warsaw between 1928 and 1939, PZL introduced a variety of well-regarded aircraft, most notably the PZL P.11 fighter, the PZL.23 Karaś light bomber, and the PZL.37 Łoś medium bomber. In the post-war era, aerospace factories in Poland were initially run under the name WSK (Transport Equipment Manufacturing Plant), but returned to adopt PZL acronym in late 1950s. This was used as a common aircraft brand and later as a part of names of several Polish state-owned aerospace manufacturers referring to PZL traditions, and belonging to the ''Zjednoczenie Przemysłu Lotniczego i Silnikowego PZL'' - PZL Aircraft and Engine Industry Union. Among the better-known products during this period is the PZL TS-11 Iskra jet trainer and PZL-104 Wilga STOL utility aircraft. After the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, these ma ...
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Polish Air Force
The Polish Air Force ( pl, Siły Powietrzne, , Air Forces) is the aerial warfare branch of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as ''Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej'' (). In 2014 it consisted of roughly 16,425 military personnel and about 475 aircraft, distributed among ten bases throughout Poland. The Polish Air Force can trace its origins to the second half of 1917 and was officially established in the months following the end of World War I in 1918. During the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, 70% of its aircraft were destroyed. Most pilots, after the Soviet invasion of Poland on September 17, escaped via Romania and Hungary to continue fighting throughout World War II in allied air forces, first in France, then in Britain, and later also the Soviet Union. History Origins Military aviation in Poland started even before the officially recognised date of regaining independence (11 November 1918). The very first independent units of th ...
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Dornier Do 17
The Dornier Do 17 is a twin-engined light bomber produced by Dornier Flugzeugwerke for the German Luftwaffe during World War II. Designed in the early 1930s as a ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") intended to be fast enough to outrun opposing aircraft, the lightly built craft had a twin tail and "shoulder wing". Sometimes referred to as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' ("flying pencil"), it was popular among its crews due to its handling, especially at low altitude, which made the Do 17 harder to hit than other German bombers. The Do 17 made its combat debut in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War, operating in the Condor Legion in various roles. Along with the Heinkel He 111 it was the main bomber type of the German air arm in 1939–1940. The Dornier was used throughout the early war, and saw action in significant numbers in every major campaign theatre as a front line aircraft until the end of 1941, when its effectiveness and usage was curtailed as its bomb load and range were limi ...
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Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous member state of the European Union. Warsaw is the nation's capital and largest metropolis. Other major cities include Kraków, Wrocław, Łódź, Poznań, Gdańsk, and Szczecin. Poland has a temperate transitional climate and its territory traverses the Central European Plain, extending from Baltic Sea in the north to Sudeten and Carpathian Mountains in the south. The longest Polish river is the Vistula, and Poland's highest point is Mount Rysy, situated in the Tatra mountain range of the Carpathians. The country is bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukraine to the east, Slovakia and the Czech Republic to the south, and Germany to the west. It also shares maritime boundaries with Denmark and Sweden. ...
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Zerstörergeschwader 76
''Zerstörergeschwader 76'' (ZG 76) was a ''Zerstörer'' (heavy fighter; lit. "destroyer") ''geschwader'' (Wing (air force unit), wing) of the German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. The wing operated the Messerschmitt Bf 109 in the early phases of World War II, then the Messerschmitt Bf 110 for the duration of the war. Created in 1939 based on the ''Zerstörer'' concept advocated by Hermann Göring, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, the wing was only partially equipped with the Bf 110. Some units were designated ''Jagdgruppe'' 76 and flew the Messerschmitt Bf 109 during the Phoney War. Those elements (''gruppen'', or groups) that operated the Bf 110 fought in the Invasion of Poland in September 1939 which began World War II. Thereafter, ZG 76 fought in the Battle of the Heligoland Bight (1939), Battle of the German Bight in December 1939 which encouraged RAF Bomber Command to switch to night bombing. In April 1940 it supported the German invasion of Denmark and fought in th ...
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