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Ian Roy MacLennan
Ian Roy MacLennan DFM, FRAIC, MTPIC, RCAF (4 April 1919 – 6 November 2013), was a Canadian fighter pilot and flying ace during the Second World War who later became a successful architect. Early life Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, with six siblings, Ian MacLennan was schooled in Gull Lake, Saskatchewan. He studied engineering at Saskatchewan University. Second World War MacLennan was enlisted into the RCAF in October 1940. Following training, he graduated from training school in June 1941, arriving in England during that Summer. Malta After service in Britain, flying sorties over France, in 1942 the RAF asked for desperately-needed volunteers (and their even more needed aircraft) to fight against Axis forces during the Siege of Malta. After damaging two Spitfires in an accident, MacLennan had fallen out of favor with his commanding officer and was asked to volunteer to go. On 9 June 1942, 32 pilots, MacLennan among them, headed towards Malta on board ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 census, Regina had a List of cities in Saskatchewan, city population of 226,404, and a List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada, Metropolitan Area population of 249,217. It is governed by Regina City Council. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Sherwood No. 159. Regina was History of Northwest Territories capital cities, previously the seat of government of the Northwest Territories, North-West Territories, of which the current provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta originally formed part, and of the District of Assiniboia. The site was previously called Wascana ("Buffalo Bones" in Cree), but was renamed to Regina (Latin for "Queen") in 1882 in honour of Queen Victoria. This decisio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight. The area now called England was first inhabited by modern humans during the Upper Paleolithic period, but takes its name from the Angles, a Germanic tribe deriving its name from the Anglia peninsula, who settled during the 5th and 6th centuries. England became a unified state in the 10th century and has had a significant cultural and legal impact on the wider world since the Age of Discovery, which began during the 15th century. The English language, the Anglican Church, and Engli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stalag Luft III
, partof = ''Luftwaffe'' , location = Sagan, Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany (now Żagań, Poland) , image = , caption = Model of the set used to film the movie ''The Great Escape.'' It depicts a smaller version of a single compound in ''Stalag Luft III''. The model is now at the museum near where the prison camp was located. , map_alt = Sagan, Germany (pre-war borders, 1937) , map_type = Poland#Germany 1937 , coordinates = , type = Prisoner-of-war camp , controlledby = , open_to_public = , condition = , built = , builder = , used = March 1942January 1945 , materials = , demolished = , battles = World War II , events = The "Great Escape" , past_commanders = ''Oberst'' Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau , garrison = , occupants = Allied air crews Stalag Luft III (german: Stammlager Luft III; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allies Of World War II
The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during the Second World War (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers, led by Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and Fascist Italy. Its principal members by 1941 were the United Kingdom, United States, Soviet Union, and China. Membership in the Allies varied during the course of the war. When the conflict broke out on 1 September 1939, the Allied coalition consisted of the United Kingdom, France, and Poland, as well as their respective dependencies, such as British India. They were soon joined by the independent dominions of the British Commonwealth: Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Consequently, the initial alliance resembled that of the First World War. As Axis forces began invading northern Europe and the Balkans, the Allies added the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Greece, and Yugoslavia. The Soviet Union, which initially had a nonaggression pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France (and later western Europe) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on D-Day was far from ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and the time of day that meant only a few days each month were d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Beurling
George Frederick "Buzz" Beurling, (6 December 1921 – 20 May 1948) was the most successful Canadian fighter pilot and flying ace of the Second World War. Beurling was recognised as "Canada's most famous hero of the Second World War", as "The Falcon of Malta" and the "Knight of Malta", having been credited with shooting down 27 Axis aircraft in just 14 days over the besieged Mediterranean island. Before the war ended his official total climbed to either 31 or 31. Beurling's wartime service was terminated prior to war's end, for repeated stunting and his lack of teamwork. Having found a way to potentially continue combat flying in the postwar era, Beurling was killed in a crash while attempting to deliver an aircraft to Israel. Early life George Beurling was born in 1921 in Verdun (now part of Montreal), Quebec into a religious family and was the third of five children in the family. His father, Frederick Gustav Beurling, was Swedish and a commercial artist working for the Claud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flying Ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually considered to be five or more. The concept of the "ace" emerged in 1915 during World War I, at the same time as aerial dogfighting. It was a propaganda term intended to provide the home front with a cult of the hero in what was otherwise a war of attrition. The individual actions of aces were widely reported and the image was disseminated of the ace as a chivalrous knight reminiscent of a bygone era. For a brief early period when air-to-air combat was just being invented, the exceptionally skilled pilot could shape the battle in the skies. For most of the war, however, the image of the ace had little to do with the reality of air warfare, in which fighters fought in formation and air superiority depended heavily on the relative availability ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Henry Wallace McLeod
Flight Lieutenant Henry Wallace McLeod DSO, DFC and Bar (17 December 1915 – 27 September 1944) was a Canadian fighter pilot and flying ace with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. He achieved a total of 21 enemy aircraft destroyed, three probably destroyed, and 11 damaged, and one shared damaged.Price 1997, p. 82. McLeod scored 13 of kills during the Battle of Malta, earning the nickname "The Eagle of Malta". Early life Henry McLeod was born in Regina, Saskatchewan to James Archibald McLeod, and Hannah Elizabeth McLeod on 17 December 1915. James McLeod was from Brooklyn, Nova Scotia and went to Acadia University. At the time of James' death, long after World War II, he was reputed to be the oldest living graduate of Acadia. McLeod's mother, Hannah, died from Spanish flu, during the pandemic, when he was three. McLeod was an average student, never excelling, but always managing pass grades. From a young age he had a reputation as a fast learner. McLeod b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Lovell
Anthony Lovell, (9 August 1919 – 17 August 1945) was a fighter pilot and flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He is credited with the destruction of at least 22 aircraft. Born in Ceylon, Lovell joined the RAF in 1937, and was serving with No. 41 Squadron at the time of the outbreak of the Second World War. He served throughout most of the Battle of Britain, achieving a number of his aerial victories. He subsequently commanded No. 145 Squadron from late 1941 to early 1942. Later that year he was sent to Malta where he led No. 1435 Squadron, achieving several more aerial victories. He served in a series of staff and instructing roles, in addition to two periods as a leader of fighter wings during the campaign in Italy. He was killed in a flying accident shortly after the war in Europe had ended. Early life Anthony Desmond Joseph Lovell was born on 9 August 1919 in Ceylon, British india. His parents, Stuart C. A. Lovell and Clare Mary Lovell, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Luqa
Royal Air Force Luqa was a Royal Air Force station located on the island of Malta, now developed into the Malta International Airport. It hosted aircraft of Air Headquarters Malta (AHQ Malta) during the Second World War. Particularly during the Siege of Malta from 1941 to 1943, RAF Luqa was a very important base for British Commonwealth forces fighting against Italy and Germany for naval control of the Mediterranean and for ground control of North Africa. Air combat over and near Malta was some of the most ferocious of the war, and a series of airfields were built on the small, rocky island: at Luqa, Ta' Qali, and Hal Far, plus satellite fields at Safi, Qrendi and on Malta's second island of Gozo. History Second World War No. 1435 (Night Fighter) Flight was first formed at Malta as a night fighter unit on 4 December 1941, by re-designating the Malta Night Fighter Unit. In July 1942, personnel from No. 603 Squadron were equipped with the Spitfire V to form the unit. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spitfires
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 fight ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Eagle (1918)
HMS ''Eagle'' was an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. Ordered by Chile during the South American dreadnought race as the ''Almirante Cochrane'', she was laid down before World War I. In early 1918 she was purchased by Britain for conversion to an aircraft carrier; this work was finished in 1924. Her completion was delayed by labour troubles and the possibility that she might be repurchased by Chile for reconversion into a battleship, as well as the need for comparative trials to determine the optimum layout for aircraft carriers. The ship was initially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet and then later to the China Station, spending very little time in home waters other than for periodic refits. ''Eagle'' spent the first nine months of World War II in the Indian Ocean searching for German commerce raiders. During the early part of the war, the Fleet Air Arm was desperately short of fighters and ''Eagle'' was equipped solely with Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers until l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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