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No. 38 Wing RAF
No. 38 Group RAF was a group of the Royal Air Force which disbanded on 31 December 2020. It was formed on 6 November 1943 from the former 38 Wing with nine squadrons as part of Transport Command. It was disbanded on 31 January 1951, but re-formed on 1 January 1960, became part of RAF Air Support Command in 1967 and then, in 1972, the air support group within RAF Strike Command. It was temporarily disbanded from 18 Nov 1983 to 31 Oct 1992 and from 1 April 2000 to 1 July 2014. It subsequently became part of RAF Air Command, bringing together the Royal Air Force’s Engineering, Logistics, Communications and Medical Operations units. Air Officer Commanding No. 38 Group was also responsible for UK-based United States Visiting Forces (USVF) units and for RAF personnel attached to other global armed forces. History The predecessor of 38 Group was No. 38 Wing RAF, initially formed on 15 January 1942 from 296 and 297 Squadrons and based at RAF Netheravon in Wiltshire under Group Captain ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Tudor Crown (heraldry), King's or St Edward's Crown, 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terrorism, hostage rescue, direct action and covert reconnaissance. Much of the information about the SAS is highly classified, and the unit is not commented on by either the British government or the Ministry of Defence due to the secrecy and sensitivity of its operations. The corps currently consists of the 22 Special Air Service Regiment, the regular component, as well as the 21 Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Reserve) and the 23 Special Air Service Regiment (Reserve), which are reserve units, all under the operational command of United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF). Its sister unit is the Royal Navy's Special Boat Service which specialises in maritime counter-terrorism. Both units are under the operational control of the Directo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Rivenhall
Royal Air Force Rivenhall or more simply RAF Rivenhall is a former Royal Air Force station located in Essex, England. The airfield is located approximately south-southeast of Braintree, Essex, England. Opened in 1942, it was used by both the Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces. During the war, it was used primarily as a combat airfield with various fighter and bomber units. After the war, it was closed in 1946 and kept in reserve until 1956. Today, the remains of the airfield are located on private property with the northern half being turned into a quarry. History USAAF use Rivenhall was known as USAAF Station AAF-168 for security reasons by the USAAF during the war, and by which it was referred to instead of location. Its USAAF Station Code was "RL". 363d Fighter Group On 22 January 1944, a squadron of the 363d Fighter Group arrived from RAF Keevil where it had been awaiting equipment. The group had been selected as the third in the European Theatr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Earls Colne
Earls Colne Airfield is a general aviation aerodrome located south-east of the village of Earls Colne, Essex, England. The site was previously RAF Earls Colne, a Royal Air Force station which was primilarly used by the United States Army Air Forces. History The following units were here at some point: * No. 38 Group Communication Flight RAF (October 1944 - May 1946) * No. 296 Squadron RAF between 29 September 1944 and 23 January 1946 using Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle I, V, & VI and the Handley Page Halifax V, III & A.7 * No. 297 Squadron RAF between 30 September 1944 and 1 April 1946 using Albemarle I, II, V & VI and the Halifax V, III & A.7 * 94th Bombardment Group * 323d Bombardment Group * 331st Bombardment Squadron * 332nd Bombardment Squadron * 333rd Bombardment Squadron * 410th Bombardment Squadron * 453rd Bombardment Squadron * 454th Bombardment Squadron * 455th Bombardment Squadron * 456th Bombardment Squadron Post war The following companies were here at some po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earls Colne Airfield
Earls Colne Airfield is a general aviation aerodrome located south-east of the village of Earls Colne, Essex, England. The site was previously RAF Earls Colne, a Royal Air Force station which was primilarly used by the United States Army Air Forces. History The following units were here at some point: * No. 38 Group Communication Flight RAF (October 1944 - May 1946) * No. 296 Squadron RAF between 29 September 1944 and 23 January 1946 using Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle I, V, & VI and the Handley Page Halifax V, III & A.7 * No. 297 Squadron RAF between 30 September 1944 and 1 April 1946 using Albemarle I, II, V & VI and the Halifax V, III & A.7 * 94th Bombardment Group * 323d Bombardment Group * 331st Bombardment Squadron * 332nd Bombardment Squadron * 333rd Bombardment Squadron * 410th Bombardment Squadron * 453rd Bombardment Squadron * 454th Bombardment Squadron * 455th Bombardment Squadron * 456th Bombardment Squadron Post war The following companies were here at som ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of the rivers Nederrijn and Sint-Jansbeek, which was the source of the city's development. Arnhem had a population of 163.972 on 1 December 2021, which made it one of the larger cities of the Netherlands. The municipality is part of the Arnhem–Nijmegen metropolitan area, which has a combined number of 774,506 inhabitants on 31 January 2022. Arnhem is home to the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen, ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, Netherlands Open Air Museum, Airborne Museum 'Hartenstein', Royal Burgers' Zoo, NOC*NSF and National Sports Centre Papendal. The north corner of the municipality is part of the Hoge Veluwe National Park. It is approximately in area, consisting of heathlands, sand dunes, and woodlands. History Early history T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, creating an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion route into northern Germany. This was to be achieved by two sub-operations: seizing nine bridges with combined U.S. and British airborne forces (Market) followed by land forces swiftly following over the bridges (Garden). The airborne operation was planned and undertaken by the First Allied Airborne Army with the land operation by XXX Corps (United Kingdom), XXX Corps of the Second Army (United Kingdom), British Second Army.The Battle for the Rhine 1944 by Robin Neillands, Chapter 4 The Road to Arnhem Although the largest airborne operation of the war up to that point, Market Garden's ultimate outcome remains debated: The operation s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Mallard
Operation Mallard was the codename for an airborne forces operation, which was conducted by the British Army on 6 June 1944, as part of the Normandy landings during the Second World War. The objective was to airlift glider infantry of the 6th Airlanding Brigade and divisional troops to reinforce the 6th Airborne Division on the left flank of the British invasion beaches. Using two landing zones, one to the west of the Caen canal and the other to the east of the River Orne, Mallard was the third airborne operation involving units of the division on D-Day. The first captured of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges, which are now known as the Pegasus and Horsa Bridges. Operation Tonga followed, dropping the division's two parachute brigades near Caen to the east. Mallard proved successful with 246 of the 256 gliders towed by aircraft from No. 38 Group RAF and No. 48 Group, arriving safely at their landing zones. The landings included the first Tetrarch tanks to be deliver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Tonga
Operation Tonga was the codename given to the airborne operation undertaken by the British 6th Airborne Division between 5 June and 7 June 1944 as a part of Operation Overlord and the D-Day landings during World War II. The paratroopers and glider-borne airborne troops of the division, commanded by Major-General Richard Nelson Gale, landed on the eastern flank of the invasion area, near to the city of Caen, tasked with a number of objectives. The division was to capture two strategically important bridges over the Caen Canal and Orne River which were to be used by Allied ground forces to advance once the seaborne landings had taken place, destroy several other bridges to deny their use to the Germans and secure several important villages. The division was also assigned the task of assaulting and destroying the Merville Gun Battery, an artillery battery that Allied intelligence believed housed a number of heavy artillery pieces, which could bombard the nearest invasion beach ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Normandy landings. A 1,200-plane Airborne forces, airborne assault preceded an amphibious warfare, amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August. The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Washington Conference (1943), Trident Conference in Washington, D.C., Washington in May 1943. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, and General Bernard Montgomery was named commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all the land forces involved in the invasio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Tarrant Rushton
Royal Air Force Tarrant Rushton or more simply RAF Tarrant Rushton is a former Royal Air Force station near the village of Tarrant Rushton east of Blandford Forum in Dorset, England from 1943 to 1947. It was used for glider operations during World War II and later revived for civilian operations. It is currently disused, though some buildings survive. Today it serves as a visual reference point (VRP) for VFR flights, in particular NW departures from Bournemouth Airport. History Building of the airfield commenced in May 1942, the airfield being intended for the use of airborne forces of 38 Wing RAF. On 17 May 1943 the base was handed over while still unfinished. Glider operations finally started in October 1943 and continued until 1945. Airspeed Horsa gliders from Tarrant Rushton left for France on the eve of D-Day, to begin Operation Tonga with an action that would later become known as Pegasus Bridge. Among the glider pilots was Jim Wallwork, on a Horsa nicknamed Lady Iren ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Keevil
Royal Air Force Station Keevil or more simply RAF Keevil is a former Royal Air Force station located between the villages of Keevil and Steeple Ashton, about east of the town of Trowbridge, in Wiltshire, England. The airfield was built on a site previously ear-marked for the purpose in the mid-1930s. With three long concrete runways, the airfield was used by the Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces Eighth and Ninth Air Forces. Although no longer a RAF station and now known as Keevil Airfield, it is maintained for military use and used for training purposes, predominantly by aircraft from RAF Brize Norton and Joint Helicopter Command. History Spitfire assembly After air raids in 1940 on the Spitfire production plants near Southampton, the Trowbridge area was one of several chosen for dispersal of production. At first parts were made, and later complete aircraft after completion of a purpose-built factory at Bradley Road, Trowbridge. Fuselages and wings w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
