No. 201 Squadron RAF
Number 201 Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It currently operates the Boeing Poseidon MRA1 from RAF Lossiemouth, Moray. It is the only squadron affiliated with Guernsey, in the Channel Islands. This affiliation started in 1935 and is commemorated in the museum on Castle Cornet. Its history goes even further back than the RAF itself, being formed originally as No. 1 Squadron RNAS on 17 October 1914. It had previously operated the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2, based at RAF Kinloss, Moray, between January 1982 and March 2010. History Formation and World War I Despite its high squadron number, 201 Squadron is one of the oldest squadrons in the RAF. It was formed as No. 1 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) on 17 October 1914, and reformed under that designation on 6 December 1916,Jefford 2001, p. 70. only being renumbered to 201 Squadron on the formation of the RAF on 1 April 1918 – all the RNAS squadrons getting new numbers by adding 200 to their o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heraldic Badges Of The Royal Air Force
Heraldic badges of the Royal Air Force are the insignia of certain commands, squadrons, units, wings, groups, branches and stations within the Royal Air Force. They are also commonly known as crests, especially by serving members of the Royal Air Force, but officially they are badges. Each badge must be approved by the reigning monarch of the time, and as such will either have a King's or Queen's Crown upon the top of the badge, dependent upon which monarch granted approval and the disbandment date of the unit.Most units/squadrons and bases had their badges updated to the Queen's Crown sometime after her accession, (although in some cases many years elapsed before the badge was updated). Most of the flying units were disbanded after the Second World War, so their badges retained the King's Crown. Queen Elizabeth II promulgated an order in October 1954 detailing that all current badges in use, and from that date on, were to use the Queen's (or St Edward's) Crown. The approval pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Castle Cornet
Castle Cornet is a large island castle in Guernsey, and former tidal island, also known as Cornet Rock or Castle Rock. Its importance was as a defence not only of the island, but of the roadstead. In 1859 it became part of one of the breakwaters of the Guernsey's main harbour, St Peter Port's harbour. Geography The island measures about in area, with a length of and a width of . It lies not quite east of the coast of Guernsey. History Formerly a tidal island, like Lihou on the west coast of Guernsey, it was first fortified as a castle between 1206 and 1256, following the division of the Duchy of Normandy in 1204. The wardenship of Geoffrey de Lucy (1225–26) has been identified as a time of fortification in the Channel Islands: timber and lead was sent from England for castle building in Guernsey and Jersey. At that time the structure consisted of a keep, a chapel, two courtyards and curtain walls. In 1338, when a French force captured the island, they besieged Cornet, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Gates (aviator)
Captain George Brian Gates (born 21 July 1899 – date of death unknown) was a World War I flying ace credited with 15 aerial victories, twelve of them enemy aircraft, and three observation balloons. Military service Gates entered into the Royal Naval Air Service as a probationary flight officer (temporary) on 22 July 1917, and was promoted to flight sub-lieutenant on 14 November 1917. Gates was posted to No. 1 Naval Squadron in early 1918, flying the Sopwith Camel. He gained his first victory on 15 March 1918, destroying a Pfalz D.III, east of Diksmuide. By the time of his second, driving down 'out of control' a Fokker Dr.I south of Albert on 16 May, the RNAS had been merged with the Army's Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force. On 16 July he accounted for a Rumpler reconnaissance aircraft and an observation balloon, and a destroyed a second balloon on 19 July. On 10 August he destroyed two Halberstadt aircraft south east of Rosières. On 27 August he was appointe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Richard Minifie
Richard Pearman Minifie, (2 February 1898 – 31 March 1969) was an Australian fighter pilot and flying ace of the First World War. Born in Victoria, he attended Melbourne Church of England Grammar School. Travelling to the United Kingdom, he enlisted in the Royal Naval Air Service in June 1916. Accepted for flight training, he completed his instruction in December and joined No. 1 (Naval) Squadron RNAS on the Western Front in January 1917, flying Sopwith Triplanes. He went on to score seventeen aerial victories on this type of machine throughout the year, becoming both the youngest Australian flying ace of the First World War and No. 1 (Naval) Squadron's highest-scoring ace on the Triplane. The unit re-equipped with the Sopwith Camel late in 1917, with Minifie going on to achieve a further four victories on the aircraft, raising his final tally to a score of twenty-one aircraft shot down. Minifie crash-landed in German-held territory in March 1918, and spent the remai ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stanley Wallace Rosevear
Stanley Wallace Rosevear DSC & Bar (9 March 1896 – 25 April 1918) was a Canadian First World War 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 co ..., officially credited with 25 victories. Text of citations Distinguished Service Cross "Flt. Sub-Lieut. Stanley Wallace Rosevear, R.N.A.S. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He has destroyed several hostile machines, and has also attacked and scattered parties of enemy infantry from low altitudes, on one occasion from a height of only 100 feet." Distinguished Service Cross - Bar "Flt. Lieut. Stanley Wallace Rosevear, D.S.C., R.N.A.S. For the skill and gallantry displayed by him on the 15th March, 1918, when he attacked a formation of eight enemy aircraft, destroying two of the enemy machines. This officer ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Samuel Kinkead
Samuel Marcus Kinkead Distinguished Service Order, DSO, Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom), DSC & Medal bar, Bar, Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom), DFC & Bar (25 February 1897 – 12 March 1928) was a South African fighter ace with 33 victories during the First World War. He went on to serve in southern Russia and the Middle East postwar. Early life Kinkead was born in Johannesburg, South African Republic, to an Irish father and Scottish mother who had recently emigrated there. He was the second son, with an elder brother named Thompson Calder Kinkead, born circa 1893. Samuel Kinkead joined the Royal Naval Air Service in September 1915. He took pilot training at Eastbourne in South Africa. He earned his wings by the end of 1915. First World War Samuel Kinkead served in 2 Wing RNAS during the Gallipoli Campaign. While flying a Bristol Scout, he shot down a Fokker on 11 August 1916. He also scored on 28 August 1916 while flying a Nieuport, and was credited w ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flying Aces
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]   |
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Southampton Airport
Southampton Airport is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The airport is located north-north-east of central Southampton. The southern tip of the runway lies within the Southampton unitary authority boundary with most of the airport, including all of the terminal buildings, within the Borough of Eastleigh. The airport handled nearly two million passengers during 2016, an 8.8% increase compared with 2015, making it the 18th busiest airport in the UK. Southampton Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P690) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. The airport is owned and operated by AGS Airports which also owns and operates Aberdeen and Glasgow Airports. It was previously owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings (formerly known as BAA). Up to March 2020, 95% of the flights from Southampton were operated by Flybe. However, the airline wen ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155–157. and developed in detail in 1893.Dooley 2004, p. A.187. They were patented in Germany in 1895 and in the United States in 1899. After the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the word ''zeppelin'' came to be commonly used to refer to all rigid airships. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. During World War I, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and as scouts, resulting in over 500 deaths in bombing raids in Britain. The defeat of Germany in 1918 temporarily slowed the airship business. Although DELAG establish ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reginald Alexander John Warneford
Reginald Alexander John Warneford, VC (15 October 1891 – 17 June 1915), also known as Rex Warneford, was a British aviator and Royal Naval Air Service officer who received the Victoria Cross for air-bombing a Zeppelin during the First World War. It was the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air dirigible. Early life Warneford was born in Darjeeling, India, the son of an engineer on the Indian Railways. He was brought to England as a small boy and educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon but after his family returned to India he continued his education at the English College, Simla. Following apprenticeship in the Merchant Marine, Warneford joined the British-India Steam Navigation Company. At the outbreak of the First World War, he was in Canada awaiting return to India. Instead, he sailed then to Britain, joining the 24th (Service) Battalion (2nd Sportsman's), Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) but soon transferred to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded by countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command. No civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two-thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the British monarch. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War. Since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals, of which 11 to members of the Bri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |