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John Freeborn
John Connell Freeborn, (1 December 1919 – 28 August 2010) was a fighter pilot and flying ace in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. In 1939, he shot down another RAF fighter in a friendly-fire incident that marked the first death of an RAF fighter pilot in the war, as well as the first aircraft shotdown by a Supermarine Spitfire. The following year, he flew more operational hours than any other RAF pilot during the Battle of Britain. Early life Freeborn was born in Middleton in West Yorkshire. His father Harold was a branch manager with the Yorkshire Penny Bank (now Yorkshire Bank), and he was something of a disciplinarian at home. Freeborn remembered that his mother Jean (née Connell) was a stern woman, saying 'I never saw her smile'. He had five siblings, two sisters and three brothers. They moved to Headingley when Freeborn was still an infant. He later attended Leeds Grammar School and, although a bright and confident pupil, his dislike of petty aut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middleton, West Yorkshire
Middleton is a largely residential suburb of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England and historically a village in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It is situated on a hill south of Leeds city centre and north north-west of London. It sits in the Middleton Park ward of Leeds City Council and Leeds Central parliamentary constituency. The population of Middleton Park ward - which includes Belle Isle - was 26,228 at the 2011 Census. Middleton was occupied before the Norman Conquest and recorded in the ''Domesday Book'' of 1086 as ''Mildetone''. It developed as a manorial estate and its owners began to exploit the coal seams that outcropped within its boundaries. At the start of the Industrial Revolution a wooden wagonway was built to link the coal pits to Leeds. The colliery agent, John Blenkinsop designed an iron railway and its first steam-powered locomotive which was built by Matthew Murray in Holbeck. The coal mines on which the local economy was based lasted until 1968 and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acting Pilot Officer
Acting pilot officer (A/Plt Off) is the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force. Acting pilot officer is not an actual military rank, therefore acting pilot officers are regraded to pilot officer instead of receiving a promotion. Unlike other RAF ranks which officers may hold in an acting capacity, acting pilot officer is maintained as a separate grade. The grade normally denotes an officer who has recently been commissioned and joined as a non-graduate direct entrant. Although acting pilot officer has a NATO ranking code of OF(D), neither the British Army, Royal Marines nor Royal Navy has an exactly equivalent rank. As acting pilot officers are junior to second lieutenants in the British Army or the Royal Marines and to Royal Navy midshipmen, the rank is the most junior commissioned rank in the British Armed Forces. On a University Air Squadron, students can apply for the position of acting pilot officer in order to undertake a senior student or flight commander r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
JG 51
''Jagdgeschwader'' 51 (JG 51) was a German fighter wing during World War II. JG 51's pilots won more awards than any other fighter wing of the Luftwaffe, and operated in all major theatres of war. Its members included Anton Hafner, Heinz Bär, Karl-Gottfried Nordmann, and Günther Schack. World War II Formed in August 1939 and commanded by Theo Osterkamp, JG 51 was based in the early months of the war in the West, fighting in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. From late June 1940 to mid July 1940, JG 51 was the only fighter Geschwader engaged continuously against the RAF. During the battle JG 51 lost 68 pilots, the highest casualty rate of the Luftwaffe fighter units engaged. From 12 July 1940 until November 1940, Stab JG 51 was located at Saint-Inglevert Airfield in Saint-Inglevert, France. Major Werner Mölders became the unit's commander in July 1940 and led the unit during the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. During Operation Barbarossa, JG 51 wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
