No. 256 Squadron RAF
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No. 256 Squadron RAF
No. 256 Squadron RAF was a flying squadron of the Royal Air Force which operated during the First and Second World Wars. Initially equipped with Dh6 and Kangaroo aircraft, it operated Defiant Mk IIs, Beaufighters, and Mosquitoes in the Second World War. In the 1950s it was equipped with the Meteor NF11 Night/All Weather Fighter and was assigned to No 125 Wing, RAF. Based in Germany as part of the 2nd Tactical Air Force, it initially flew from RAF Ahlhorn in north Germany until that airfield was handed back to the German Air Force in 1958, after which the wing was re-located at RAF Geilenkirchen near Aachen. First World War The squadron was formed in June 1918 at RAF Elford (later RAF Seahouses), flying Dh6 aircraft. It parented No.s 495 (Light Bomber), 525, 526, 527 and 528 Special Duty Flights. The various flights were engaged in coastal patrols and outbased at other locations such as RAF Ashington, New Haggerston, Rennington, and Cairncross. A cadre of Kangaroos was detach ...
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ...
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Boulton Paul Defiant
The Boulton Paul Defiant is a British interceptor aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. The Defiant was designed and built by Boulton Paul Aircraft as a "turret fighter", without any fixed forward-firing guns, also found in the Blackburn Roc of the Royal Navy. In combat, the Defiant was found to be effective at destroying bombers, the role it was designed for, but was vulnerable to the ''Luftwaffe''s more manoeuvrable, single-seat Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters. The Defiant had been designed to destroy unescorted bombers by means of beam or ventral attacks and therefore lacked forward-firing armament, that proved to be a great weakness in daylight combat with fighters. It did, however, find success when it was converted to a night fighter. It eventually equipped thirteen squadrons in this role,Cagill 2005, p. 44. compared to just two squadrons as a day-fighter, though this was mainly due to slow initial production. In mid-1942 it was replaced ...
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RAF Nicosia
Royal Air Force Station Nicosia or RAF Nicosia was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station on the island of Cyprus, built in the 1930s. The station served as Headquarters Royal Air Force Cyprus from 8 June to 29 July 1941. The original principal airport for Cyprus, Nicosia International Airport, was built within the site of the RAF station. Both civil and military aviation on the island operated from the site, although the RAF disestablished the station in 1966. The 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus led to the cessation of commercial operations from the airport, although the site is still owned by the British Ministry of Defence, but is controlled by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus and used as a base by United Nations peace-keeping patrol helicopters. Station history Source: ''Britain's Small Wars'' * No. 6 Squadron RAF first used the airfield on 3 October 1946 with the Supermarine Spitfire LF.9 before re-equipping with the Hawker Tempest F.6 in December of that year ...
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Forlì Airport
Forlì International Airport , also known as Luigi Ridolfi Airport ( it, Aeroporto di Forlì - "L. Ridolfi"), is an airport in Forlì, a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It serves Emilia-Romagna, eastern Tuscany, specifically the metropolitan Bologna and Rimini Riviera areas. It is named for the Italian aviator . Since 2018, it is operated by the new operating company F.A. History Forlì International Airport was originally Luigi Ridolfi Airport, and dedicated by Benito Mussolini prior to WWII. Mussolini was born in the nearby town of Predappio. On 29 March 2013, the airport was closed due to the lack of Jet-A fuel per Notam B1624/13. The management company, SEAF S.p.A., was declared bankrupt. A tender was issued by ENAC, the aviation administration, to operate the airport. The submissions were reviewed by local, regional, and pan-EU government representatives, as well as Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Maurizio Lupi. Support was put forth unanimousl ...
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Foggia
Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known as the "granary of Italy". History The name "''Foggia''" (originally ''Focis'') probably derives from Latin "''fovea''", meaning "''pit''", referring to the pits where wheat was stored. The name's etymology remains uncertain however, as it could as well stem from "''Phocaea''", or possibly probably from the Medieval Greek word for "''fire''", which is "''fotia''", as according to legend the original settlers of the 11th century AD were peasants, allegedly after having iraculouslydiscovered there a panel portraying the Madonna Nicopeia, on which three flames burnt. The area had been settled since Neolithic times, and later on a Daunian settlement known as Arpi (in Greek ''Argos Hippium'' or ''Ἀργόριππα'') existed nearby, clos ...
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Ahmed Ben Bella Airport
Ahmed Ben Bella Airport ( ar, مطار أحمد بن بلة), formally Es-Sénia Airport is an airport located 4.7 nautical mile, nm (8.7 km) south of Oran (near Es Sénia), in Algeria. History During World War II, La Sénia Airport was first used by the French Air Force as a military airfield, first by the Armée de l'Air, and after June 1940, by the Armistice Air Force (french: link=no, Armée de l'Air de Vichy) of the Vichy government. During the Operation Torch landings in 1942, La Sénia was one of the primary objectives of the assault on Oran on 9 November. A paratroop task force was to be directly seize La Sénia, with an armored task force to thrust inland to insure the capture of the field. Just after daylight, eight Albacore dive bombers from H.M.S. ''Furious'' and six Hurricane fighter escorts from each of the two auxiliary carriers swung back over La Sénia airfield in broad daylight to be greeted by strong antiaircraft fire and Vichy fighters. The airfield was ...
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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 ...
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RAF Ford
HM Prison Ford (informally known as Ford Open Prison) is a Category D men's prison, located at Ford, in West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ar ..., England, near Arundel and Littlehampton. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Air Force and Navy use The site was initially RAF Ford before changing into Royal Naval Air Station Ford (RNAS Ford/HMS Peregrine) a Fleet Air Arm station. The Westland Wyvern went into service first here in the early 1950s with 813 Naval Air Squadron. The following units were here at some point: ;Naval units: ;Units: Prison recent history The prison has been criticised for its lax security – especially after 70 people, including three murderers serving the last three years of their sentences, absconded in 2 ...
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RAF Woodvale
Royal Air Force Woodvale or RAF Woodvale is a Royal Air Force Station located next to the towns of Formby and Ainsdale in an area called Woodvale which is located to the south of Southport, Merseyside. Woodvale was constructed as an all-weather night fighter airfield for the defence of Liverpool. However, it did not open until 7 December 1941 which was just after the Liverpool Blitz which peaked in May of that year. History Second World War Woodvale opened in December 1941, six months after the end of the Liverpool Blitz. It was used for short periods by RAF squadrons that were rotated out of the zones in southern of England closest to German-occupied Europe. During their time at Woodvale, squadrons defended Merseyside. Polish 308 (Krakowski) Squadron was the first to arrive, on 12 December 1941, from RAF Northolt before leaving on 1 April 1942. Squadrons were rotated regularly. Several were Polish, including 315 (Dęblinski) Squadron and 317 (Wilenski) Squadron. Spitfire II ...
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RAF Squires Gate
Blackpool Airport is an airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport and Blackpool International Airport. Ownership of the airport has changed a number of times over the years. The airport was wholly owned by Blackpool Borough Council until 2004, when it was sold to a consortium led by Wolverhampton Airport operators City Hopper Ltd (CHAL), who operated it until May 2008 when Balfour Beatty purchased MAR Property's 95% stake. Blackpool Borough Council retained 5%. During 2014 Balfour Beatty claimed to be looking for a buyer for the airport, and then after just one month announced that it was to close the Airport. On 15 October 2014, the airport's terminal and Air Traffic Control provision was closed, with the last scheduled flights to Dublin and the Isle of Man leaving in the late afternoon. In November 2014, the former company formed a new company, called Squires ...
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RAF Colerne
Royal Air Force Colerne or more simply RAF Colerne is a former Royal Air Force station which was on the outskirts of the village of Colerne in Wiltshire, England, and was in use from 1939 to 1976. The site is now known as Azimghur Barracks and is home to 21 Signal Regiment, Royal Signals and 93 (City of Bath) Air Training Corps detached flight. History Second World War Originally there had been a farm called Doncombe and a vineyard on the site of the airfield, the names of Doncombe Lane and Doncombe Hill being the last link to the farm. From 1940 to 1955 RAF Fighter Command units were based here. During the Battle of Britain the airfield served as a satellite field to RAF Middle Wallop, and squadrons rotated back and forth from there on a daily basis. Later it was a training station for night fighter navigators. Using the latest night fighter procedures, the unit involved was No. 238 Operational Conversion Unit RAF from June 1952 until January 1957 and Bristol Brigand twin en ...
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RAF Pembrey
Pembrey Sands Air Weapons Range is a Ministry of Defence air weapons range located near the village of Pembrey, Carmarthenshire, northwest of Burry Port and south of Carmarthen, Wales. Adjacent to the weapons range site was a Royal Air Force station known as RAF Pembrey which closed is 1957 and is now a in civilian use as Pembrey Airport. History RAF Pembrey Origin Construction of the airfield for RAF Training Command started in 1937. The airfield opened in March 1939, and by September 1939 the RAF's No. 2 Air Armament School was the first unit to be stationed at the airfield. Second World War By May 1940, the three tarmac runways were completed and the airfield transferred initially to 11 Group RAF Fighter Command and then to the newly formed 10 Group RAF Fighter Command. Supermarine Spitfire pilots of 92 Squadron used Pembrey as their base from 18 June 1940, including Squadron Leader Stanford Tuck, until 12 August, Geoffrey Wellum the author of the 2002 memoir, ...
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