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Mike Snelling
Michael Henry Bruce Snelling (born 1941) is a former British fighter pilot, test pilot and airline pilot. Early life Born in Brighton, Sussex, Mike Snelling was educated at Prestonville School, Brighton and Radley College where he was a classics scholar. Career Snelling joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a Technical Cadet, as a member of 8(U) entry at the RAF Technical College at RAF Henlow in 1959. He read Engineering at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge. After post graduate training he was sent for basic flying training. In 1965 he transferred to the RAF General Duties Branch. After advanced RAF Flying Training Command, flying training he was posted to the Central Flying School and graduated as a flying instructor on the Folland Gnat, Gnat T Mk 1. After a tour at RAF Valley in Anglesey, he joined 229 OCU, No.229 OCU at RAF Chivenor for Hawker Hunter conversion. He then served as a DFGA (Day Fighter/Ground Attack) Hunter pilot on No. 208 Squadron RAF, 208 Sqn at RAF Muharraq in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting (close range aerial combat). A fighter pilot with at least five air-to-air kills becomes known as an ace. Recruitment Fighter pilots are one of the most highly regarded and desirable positions of any air force. Selection processes only accept the elite out of all the potential candidates. An individual who possesses an exceptional academic record, physical fitness, healthy well-being, and a strong mental drive will have a higher chance of being selected for pilot training. Candidates are also expected to exhibit strong leadership and teamwork abilities. As such, in nearly all air forces, fighter pilots, as are pilots of most other aircraft, are commissioned officers. Fitness Fighter pilots must be in optimal health to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. According to the 2020 census, the country's population numbers 1,501,635, of which 712,362 are Bahraini nationals. Bahrain spans some , and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama. Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilization.Oman: The Lost Land [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Hermes (R12)
HMS ''Hermes'' was a conventional British aircraft carrier and the last of the . ''Hermes'' was in service with the Royal Navy from 1959 until 1984, and she served as the flagship of the British forces during the 1982 Falklands War. After being sold to India in 1986, the vessel was recommissioned and remained in service with the Indian Navy as until 2017. Construction and modifications The ship was laid down by Vickers-Armstrong at Barrow-in-Furness during World War II as HMS ''Elephant''. Construction was suspended in 1945 but work was resumed in 1952 to clear the slipway and the hull was launched on 16 February 1953. The vessel remained unfinished until 1957, when she entered service on 18 November 1959 as HMS ''Hermes'' after extensive modifications which included installation of a massive Type 984 'searchlight' 3D radar, a fully angled deck with a deck-edge lift, and steam catapults. With these changes she more resembled the reconstructed aircraft carrier than the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncansby Head (near John o' Groats) in the north, in the Highland council area, and Fraserburgh in the east, in the Aberdeenshire council area, to Inverness and the Beauly Firth in the west. Therefore, three council areas have Moray Firth coastline: Highland to the west and north of the Moray Firth and Highland, Moray and Aberdeenshire to the south. The firth has more than 800 kilometres (about 500 miles) of coastline, much of which is cliff. Etymology The firth is named after the 10th-century Province of Moray, whose name in turn is believed to derive from the sea of the firth itself. The local names ''Murar'' or ''Morar'' are suggested to derive from , the Gaelic for sea, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century; the oldest of the UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the middle decades of the 17th century, and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century, it was the world's most powerful navy until the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superiority globally. Owing to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, to ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wildcat and AW101 Merlin for commando and anti-submarine warfare and the BAE Hawk as an aggressor. The Fleet Air Arm today is a predominantly rotary force, with helicopters undertaking roles once performed by biplanes such as the Fairey Swordfish. The Fleet Air Arm was formed in 1924 as an organisational unit of the Royal Air Force, which was then operating the aircraft embarked on RN ships—the Royal Naval Air Service having been merged with the Army's Royal Flying Corps in 1918 to form the Royal Air Force—and did not come under the direct control of the Admiralty until mid-1939. During the Second World War, the Fleet Air Arm operated aircraft on ships as well as land-based aircraft that defended the Royal Navy's shore establishments a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ski-jump (aviation)
In aviation, a ski-jump is an upward-curved ramp that allows aircraft to take off from a runway that is shorter than the aircraft's required takeoff roll. By forcing the aircraft upwards, lift-off can be achieved at a lower airspeed than that required for sustained flight, while allowing the aircraft to accelerate to such speed in the air rather than on the runway. Ski-jumps are commonly used to launch airplanes from aircraft carriers that lack catapults. It is believed that the first use of the ski-jump occurred during the Second World War, where a temporary ramp was added to to assist the take-off of heavily laden Fairey Barracudas conducting a strike mission against the German battleship . During the Cold War era, the concept was studied as a means of reducing the length of flight decks required for future aircraft carriers as well as to facilitate ever-increasingly heavy aircraft at sea. The Royal Navy took a particular interest in the ski-jump during the 1970s, conducting a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Aerospace Sea Harrier
The British Aerospace Sea Harrier is a naval STOVL, short take-off and vertical landing/VTOL, vertical take-off and landing jet fighter, Aerial reconnaissance, reconnaissance and attack aircraft. It is the second member of the Harrier jump jet, Harrier family developed. It first entered service with the Royal Navy in April 1980 as the Sea Harrier FRS1 and became informally known as the "''Shar''". Unusual in an era in which most naval and land-based air superiority fighters were large and supersonic speed, supersonic, the principal role of the subsonic Sea Harrier was to provide air defence for Royal Navy task groups centred around the aircraft carriers. The Sea Harrier served in the Falklands War and the NATO intervention in Bosnia, Balkans conflicts; on all occasions it mainly operated from aircraft carriers positioned within the conflict zone. Its usage in the Falklands War was its most high profile and important success, when it was the only fixed-wing fighter available to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Siddeley Harrier
The Hawker Siddeley Harrier is a British military aircraft. It was the first of the Harrier series of aircraft and was developed in the 1960s as the first operational ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft with vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) capabilities and the only truly successful V/STOL design of that era. The Harrier was developed directly from the Hawker Siddeley Kestrel prototype aircraft, following the cancellation of a more advanced supersonic aircraft, the Hawker Siddeley P.1154. In the late 1960s, the Harrier GR.1 and GR.3 variants were ordered by the British government for the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was exported to the United States as the AV-8A, for use by the US Marine Corps (USMC), in the 1970s. During the Harrier's service the RAF positioned the bulk of the aircraft in West Germany to defend against a potential invasion of Western Europe by the Warsaw Pact forces; the unique abilities of the Harrier allowed the RAF to disperse their forces a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Siddeley
Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of only two such major British companies in the 1960s. In 1977, Hawker Siddeley became a founding component of the nationalised British Aerospace (BAe). Hawker Siddeley also operated in other industrial markets, such as locomotive building (through its ownership of Brush Traction) and diesel engine manufacture (through its ownership of Lister Petter). The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. History Origins Hawker Siddeley Aircraft was formed in 1935 as a result of the purchase by Hawker Aircraft of the companies of J. D. Siddeley, the automotive and engine builder Armstrong Siddeley and the aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross (AFC) is a military decoration awarded to officers, and since 1993 other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. It is granted for "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry while flying, though not in active operations against the enemy". A Medal bar, bar is added to the ribbon for holders who are awarded a further AFC. History The award was established on 3 June 1918, shortly after the formation of the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was originally awarded to RAF commissioned officers and Warrant Officers, but was later expanded to include Royal Navy and army aviation officers. While consistently awarded for service while "flying though not in active operations against the enemy", the AFC was originally awarded for "valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying" with many awards made for meritorious service over a period of time, rather than a specific act of bravery. These ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MoD Boscombe Down
MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The base was originally conceived, constructed, and operated as Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, more commonly known as RAF Boscombe Down, and since 1939, has evaluated aircraft for use by the British Armed Forces. The airfield has two runways, one in length, and the second . The airfield's evaluation centre is currently home to Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron (RWTS), Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS), Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS), Handling Squadron, and the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS). History First World War An aerodrome opened at the Boscombe Down site in October 1917 and operated as a Royal Flying Corps Training Depot Station. Kn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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