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Oliver Schwann
Air Vice Marshal Sir Oliver Swann, (born Schwann; 18 November 1878 – 7 March 1948) was a British military commander who was a leading figure in the Royal Naval Air Service and senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the first half of the 20th century. Early years Schwann joined the Royal Navy in 1892, and was a lieutenant when in July 1902 he was posted as junior staff to , naval torpedo school ship at Chatham dockyard. Early naval aviation In 1910 Schwann was selected to assist Captain Murray Sueter who was conducting pioneering naval aviation work with airships. Later, Schwann bought an Avro Type D landplane (at his own expense with support from friends) for £700 and fitted floats to it. Despite not having qualified as a pilot, Schwann managed to fly it off the water. Although Schwann crashed the aircraft, this was the first aircraft take off by a British pilot from salt water. In November 1912, after Schwann had qualified as a pilot, he was appointed assistant direc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wimbledon, London
Wimbledon () is a district and town of Southwest London, England, southwest of the centre of London at Charing Cross; it is the main commercial centre of the London Borough of Merton. Wimbledon had a population of 68,187 in 2011 which includes the electoral wards of Abbey, Dundonald, Hillside, Trinity, Village, Raynes Park and Wimbledon Park. It is home to the Wimbledon Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas of common land in London. The residential and retail area is split into two sections known as the "village" and the "town", with the High Street being the rebuilding of the original medieval village, and the "town" having first developed gradually after the building of the railway station in 1838. Wimbledon has been inhabited since at least the Iron Age when the hill fort on Wimbledon Common is thought to have been constructed. In 1086 when the Domesday Book was compiled, Wimbledon was part of the manor of Mortlake. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Murray Sueter
Rear-Admiral Sir Murray Fraser Sueter (6 September 1872 – 3 February 1960) was a Royal Naval officer who was noted as a pioneer of naval aviation and later became a Member of Parliament (MP). Naval career Sueter was born in Alverstoke. Coming from a naval background, he entered the Royal Navy as a cadet on ''Britannia'' in 1886 before serving as a midshipman with HMS ''Swiftsure''. In 1894 he was promoted to lieutenant and in 1896 he was posted to HMS ''Vernon'' to become a specialist in torpedo warfare, afterwards serving on the staff. In 1899 he became Torpedo Officer on HMS ''Jupiter''. In May 1902 Sueter moved to Reginald Bacon's submarine tender HMS ''Hazard'', where he distinguished himself by aiding injured crew members of the submarine A.1 after an explosion aboard. Sueter's book, ''The Evolution of the Submarine Boat, Mine and Torpedo'' (1907), was the result of his close work with submarines during this time. He married Andrew Clarke's daughter, Elinor Mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eugene Gerrard
Air Commodore Eugene Louis Gerrard, (14 July 1881 – 7 February 1963) was an officer in the Royal Marines and Royal Air Force. Gerrard was commissioned into the Royal Marine Light Infantry in 1900 and served on , , , , and . In 1911, Gerrard was one of the first four officers chosen by the Admiralty for flying training conducted under the auspices of the Royal Aero Club – he was awarded certificate #76. Gerrard then served as a squadron commander in the newly formed Royal Flying Corps and was posted as a flight commander to the Central Flying School. Whilst at the Central Flying School, Gerrard set two records for flying at high altitude with passengers. On the first occasion, he flew to 10,000 feet with Major Hugh Trenchard. Later, Gerrard flew to 8,400 feet with two passengers. Following the outbreak of the First World War, Gerrard took up command of No. 1 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service. One of his first acts was to attack the Düsseldorf Airship Sheds in a B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mediterranean District RAF
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant. The Sea has played a central role in the history of Western civilization. Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago, the Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about , representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to the Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar—the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa—is only wide. The Mediterranean Sea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Marsland Groves
Air Commodore Robert Marsland Groves, (3 January 1880 – 27 May 1920) was a Royal Navy officer involved with naval aviation during the First World War. He was awarded his Aviator's Certificate no. 969 on 15 November 1914. After transferring to the Royal Air Force in 1918, he served as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and held high command in the Middle East. He was killed in a flying accident in 1920 aged 40 whilst serving in Egypt. Early life Groves was born on 3 January 1880 at Stretford in Lancashire, England, the son of James Grimble Groves, a brewer and Conservative MP. He was educated at Rossall School. Naval service Groves joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman in the 1890s, rising to sub-lieutenant by the summer of 1899 and then lieutenant on 15 February 1900. In September 1902 Groves was posted to the torpedo school ship HMS ''Vernon'', to qualify as torpedo lieutenant. Groves was promoted to commander on 22 June 1911 and the following year, on 26 November 1912, he was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Middle East
Middle East Command was a command of the Royal Air Force (RAF) that was active during the Second World War. It had been preceded by RAF Middle East, which was established in 1918 by the redesignation of HQ Royal Flying Corps Middle East that had been activated in 1917Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Overseas Commands - Middle East & Mediterranean although a small Royal Flying Corps presence had been operational in the region since 1914. RAF Middle East Command was formed on 29 December 1941 following the redesignation of RAF Middle East. During the early part of the , the Command was one of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Council
Air Council (or Air Force Council) was the governing body of the Royal Air Force until the merger of the Air Ministry with the other armed forces ministries to form the Ministry of Defence in 1964. It was succeeded by the Air Force Board. Members of the council The Air Council was made up of several posts, the names of which changed over time. These included: * President of the Air Council, (1917–1919) *President – Secretary of State for Air, (1919–1964) * Vice-President of the Air Council – originally held by Lt-Gen Sir David Henderson, who resigned from post it ceased after that date (1917–1918) *Under-Secretary of State for Air, (1919–1964) * Chief of the Air Staff, (1918–1964) *Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (1930–1964) * Vice Chief of the Air Staff, (1940–1964) *Air Member for Research and Development, renamed Air Member for Development and Production *Air Member for Supply and Research.(1923–1930) * Air Member for Supply and Organisation.(1930–196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Egyptian Group
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The RA ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
