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Keith Williamson
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Keith Alec Williamson, (25 February 1928 – 2 May 2018) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force. He served with the Royal Australian Air Force flying Meteors in a ground attack role during the Korean War. He was a squadron commander and then a station commander during the 1960s and a senior air commander in the 1980s. He was Chief of the Air Staff during the early 1980s at the time of the emergency airlift of food and supplies to Ethiopia ("Operation Bushel"). RAF career The son of Percy Williamson and his wife Gertrude, Williamson was educated at Bancroft's School and Market Harborough Grammar School.Probert, p. 90 He enlisted in the Aircraft Apprentice Scheme at RAF Halton in 1945, and was transferred to the Aircraft Apprentice Wing at RAF Cranwell, No 1 Radio School where he joined the 50th Entry and was trained as an Air Radio Fitter. After graduating in 1948, he was selected for a cadetship at RAF College Cranwell and was commi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leytonstone
Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, Stratford, London, Stratford to the south-west, Leyton to the west, and Walthamstow to the north-west. Historically part of the ancient parish of Municipal Borough of Leyton, Leyton in the Becontree Hundred, Becontree hundred of Essex, the first documented evidence of settlement is from the 14th century, describing a Hamlet_(place), hamlet at ‘Leyton-atte-stone’; a reference to the Milestone#Roman_Empire, Roman milestone located within the area, that formed a northerm boundary of the parish. It remained largely rural until the 19th century, becoming part of the London postal district in 1856, the same year its Leytonstone tube station, railway station was opened (now on the Central line (London Underground), Central line). When Greater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Halton
Royal Air Force Halton, or more simply RAF Halton, is one of the largest Royal Air Force stations in the United Kingdom. It is located near the village of Halton near Wendover, Buckinghamshire. The site has been in use since the First World War but is due to close by December 2027. The Queen Consort is the Honorary Air Commodore of RAF Halton. History The first recorded military aviation at Halton took place in 1913 when the then owner of the Halton estate, Alfred de Rothschild, invited No 3 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps to conduct manoeuvres on his land. Following a gentlemen's agreement between Rothschild and Lord Kitchener, the estate was used by the British Army throughout the First World War. In 1916 the Royal Flying Corps moved its air mechanics school from Farnborough, Hampshire to Halton, and in 1917, the school was permanently accommodated in workshops built by German PoWs. The estate was purchased by the British Government for the nascent Royal Air Fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet engine and the swept wing, and was the first jet-powered aircraft produced by Hawker to be procured by the RAF. On 7 September 1953, the modified first prototype broke the world air speed record for aircraft, achieving a speed of . The single-seat Hunter was introduced to service in 1954 as a manoeuvrable day interceptor aircraft, quickly succeeding first-generation jet fighters in RAF service such as the Gloster Meteor and the de Havilland Venom. The all-weather/night fighter role was filled by the Gloster Javelin. Successively improved variants of the type were produced, adopting increasingly more capable engine models and expanding its fuel capacity amongst other modifications being implemented. Hunters were also us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Home Command
RAF Home Command was the Royal Air Force command that was responsible for the maintenance and training of reserve organisationsJohn D. Rawlings, 'The History of the Royal Air Force,' Temple Press Aerospace, Feltham, Middlesex, 1984, p.180 from formation on 1 February 1939 as RAF Reserve Command with interruptions until it ceased to exist on 1 April 1959. History The Command was formed as RAF Reserve Command on 1 February 1939.Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - RAF Home Commands formed between 1939 - 1957 It was absorbed into on 27 May 1940 but reformed again on 1 May 1946. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harold Lydford
Air Marshal Sir Harold Thomas Lydford, (7 May 1898 – 20 September 1979) was a First World War pilot in the Royal Flying Corps and senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and the post-war decade. RAF career Lydford was commissioned into the Special Reserve of the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. He transferred to the Royal Air Force after the war and served as a pilot with No. 208 Squadron in Constantinople. He served in the Second World War as Deputy Director of Organisation and Director of Organisation at the Air Ministry before being appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 28 Group in 1944 and Air Officer Commanding British Forces Aden in March 1945. After the War he served as Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment, Air Officer Commanding No. 18 Group and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Home Command before retiring in 1956. In retirement he became a Director of ''Electro Mechanisms Limited'' and Chairman of the Royal Air Forces Association T ... [...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] |
Jever Air Base
Jever Air Base is a former German Air Force military air base, located 4.3 km west-southwest of Schortens in Lower Saxony, Germany. It was the home of parts of the German Air Force Regiment. Military flying ceased in September 2013. History The airfield was originally opened in 1936 for the Luftwaffe. It was seized during World War II by the British Army in April 1945 and taken over by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designated as Advanced Landing Ground B-117 Jever. It was later designated RAF Jever and used by the RAF beginning in 1952 as part of the Cold War British Forces in West Germany. RAF units assigned were: * 1952: 20 Squadron reformed with de Havilland Vampire FB.9 * 1952–1953: 112 Squadron with Vampire FB.5 * 1952–1961: 4 Squadron & 93 Squadron with Vampire FB.5 (replaced with FB.9), later Canadair Sabre F.4, later Hawker Hunter F.4 (replaced with F.6) * 1955–1957: 98 Squadron & 118 Squadron with Hunter F.4 * 1957–1961: 2 Squadron with Superma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Fassberg – a German Army air base, successor to RAF Fassberg
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Fassberg or Faßberg may refer to * Faßberg – a municipality in the district of Celle, in Lower Saxony, Germany * RAF Fassberg – a Royal Air Force air base between 1945 and 1957 in the vicinity of Faßberg * Faßberg Air Base Faßberg Air Base (german: Heeresflugplatz Faßberg) is a Bundeswehr base located northeast of the municipality of Faßberg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The air base is jointly used by the German Army (''Heer'') and the German Air Force (''Luftwaff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and the first to be powered by a single jet propulsion, jet engine. Development of the Vampire as an experimental aircraft began in 1941 during the Second World War, to exploit the revolutionary innovation of jet propulsion. From the company's design studies, it was decided to use a single-engine, twin-boom aircraft, powered by the de Havilland Goblin, Halford H.1 turbojet (later produced as the Goblin). Aside from its propulsion system and twin-boom configuration, it was a relatively conventional aircraft. In May 1944 it was decided to produce the aircraft as an interceptor aircraft, interceptor for the Royal Air Force (RAF). In 1946 the Vampire entered operational service with the RAF, only months after the war had ended. The Vampire quick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gloster Meteor
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft began in 1940, although work on the engines had been under way since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. The Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Gloster's 1946 civil Meteor F.4 demonstrator ''G-AIDC'' was the first Aircraft registration, civilian-registered jet aircraft in the world. Several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. Thousands of Meteors were built to fly with the RAF and other air forces and remained in use for several decade ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
