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R.F.C. World War I Drone Weapons
Soon after its re-purposing from the Army Balloon Factory to the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1912, designers at this Farnborough base turned their thoughts to flying an unmanned aircraft. During the First World War this pioneering work resulted in trials of remotely controlled aircraft for the Royal Flying Corps and unmanned boats for the Royal Navy that were controlled from 'mother' aircraft. By the end of the war in 1918 Britain had successfully flown and controlled a drone aircraft and a number of fast unmanned motor boats operating in close flotilla formation had been individually controlled by radio from operators flying in "mother" aircraft. This work then continued in the inter war years. The Factory's 1914 design There is a Royal Aircraft Factory engineering drawing dated October 1914 of an unmanned powered monoplane long with a wingspan. This was developed as a possible defence to counter the threat of aerial bombing from German dirigible airships. This new potential ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions. The first site was at Farnborough Airfield ("RAE Farnborough") in Hampshire to which was added a second site RAE Bedford (Bedfordshire) in 1946. In 1988 it was renamed the Royal Aerospace Establishment (RAE) before merging with other research entities to become part of the new Defence Research Agency in 1991. History In 1904–1906 the Army Balloon Factory, which was part of the Army School of Ballooning, under the command of Colonel James Templer, relocated from Aldershot to the edge of Farnborough Common in order to have enough space to inflate the new "dirigible balloon" or airship which was then under construction.Walker, P; Early Aviation at Farnborough, Volume I: Balloons, Kites and Airships, Macdo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archibald Low
Archibald Montgomery Low (17 October 1888 – 13 September 1956) developed the first powered drone aircraft. He was an English consulting engineer, research physicist and inventor, and author of more than 40 books. Low has been called the "father of radio guidance systems" due to his pioneering work on planes, torpedoes boats and guided rockets. He was a pioneer in many fields though, often leading the way for others, but his lack of discipline meant he hardly ever saw a project through, being easily distracted by new ideas. If it wasn't for this inability to see things to a conclusion, Low could well have been remembered as one of the great men of science. Many of his scientific contemporaries disliked him, due in part to his using the title "professor", which he wasn't entitled to do as he didn't occupy an academic chair. His love of the limelight and publicity probably also added to the dislike. Low was working on the invention of television before World War I Bloom, Ur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Constantinescu
George "Gogu" Constantinescu (; last name also Constantinesco; 4 October 1881 – 11 December 1965) was a Romanian scientist, engineer and inventor. During his career, he registered over 130 inventions. He is the creator of the ''theory of sonics'', a new branch of continuum mechanics, in which he described the transmission of mechanical energy through vibrations. Biography Early years Born in Craiova in "the Doctor's House" near the Mihai Bravu Gardens, he was influenced by his father George, born in 1844 (a professor of mathematics and engineering science, specialized in mathematics at the Sorbonne University). Gogu Constantinescu settled in the United Kingdom in 1912. He was an honorary member of the Romanian Academy. Family He married Alexandra (Sandra) Cocorescu in Richmond, London, in December 1914. The couple moved to Wembley and, after their son Ian was born, they moved to Weybridge. The marriage broke down in the 1920s and ended in divorce. He then married ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pomeroy Bullet
The Pomeroy bullet was designed by New Zealander John Pomeroy (1873–1950) as an anti-zeppelin weapon. Pomeroy bullets were supposed to explode when encountering the minimal resistance of fabric envelopes containing hydrogen gas holding the zeppelin aloft. The explosion might produce a larger hole in the fabric than the small diameter bullet and the energy of the explosion might ignite the hydrogen in the presence of atmospheric oxygen outside of the envelope. Background World War I saw the first use of strategic bombing. The first bombers were Zeppelin airships flying at altitudes above the effective range of most defensive weapons. Fighter aircraft could reach the altitude of a Zeppelin but took a long time to do so and their weapons were machine guns firing rifle bullets which usually made only small holes in the zeppelin's fabric gas envelopes. The minimal pressure differential was insufficient to cause rapid loss of hydrogen contained within the fabric envelopes and the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Munitions Inventions Department
The Munitions Inventions Department (MID) of the British Ministry of Munitions was created during the First World War in 1915. Its administrative structure encompassed university and industrial laboratories, private workshops, and military experimental grounds. The department made us of the experimental facilities of other government agencies, including the National Physical Laboratory at Bushy House and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). Two sister organisations were formed: The Board of Invention and Research (BIR) which was established in July 1915 to support the Admiralty, and the Air Inventions Committee (AIC), which supported the Air Board once it became become fully operational in the summer of 1917. Predecessors The readiness of the British military to tap the inventiveness of the public can be dated back to the eighteenth century. Two War Office committees, the Colonels' Committee and the Field Officers' Committee had been convened in the 1760s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dirigible
An airship or dirigible balloon is a type of aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air. In early dirigibles, the lifting gas used was hydrogen, due to its high lifting capacity and ready availability. Helium gas has almost the same lifting capacity and is not flammable, unlike hydrogen, but is rare and relatively expensive. Significant amounts were first discovered in the United States and for a while helium was only available for airships in that country. Most airships built since the 1960s have used helium, though some have used hot air.A few airships after World War II used hydrogen. The first British airship to use helium was the ''Chitty Bang Bang'' of 1967. The envelope of an airship may form the gasbag, or it may contain a number of gas-filled cells. An airship also has engines, crew, and optionally also payload accommodation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force
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". ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brocks Fireworks
Brock's Fireworks Ltd is a manufacturer of fireworks, founded in London and subsequently based in Hemel Hempstead, Dumfriesshire and Norfolk. Brock's was founded in 1698 in Islington by John Brock, and is the oldest British firework manufacturer. John Brock died on 5 November 1720 aged 43 and is buried at St James's Church, Clerkenwell, London. In 1825 the factory was located in a residential area in Baker's Row (now Vallance Road), Whitechapel, London: it was destroyed when a boy who was ramming gunpowder into a firework accidentally created a spark which ignited it, and threw it aside as he ran out in fright. Fifty pounds of gunpowder and a large amount of saltpetre exploded immediately, blowing the roof off, setting fire to the building, and smashing every pane of glass in most of the adjoining streets. The company established a presence in south London, in South Norwood and Sutton and developed an association with the Crystal Palace, devising public displays (known as "Brock ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stratford, London
Stratford is a town in east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. Until 1965 it was within the historic county of Essex. Part of the Lower Lea Valley, Stratford is situated 6 miles (10 km) east-northeast of Charing Cross, and includes the localities of Maryland and East Village. Part of the London Borough of Newham, a local government district of Greater London, it was previously part of the parish of West Ham, which historically formed an ancient parish in the hundred of Becontree. Following reform of local government in London in 1965, the parish and borough of West Ham was abolished, becoming part of the borough of Newham in the newly formed Greater London administrative area and ceremonial county. Stratford grew rapidly in the 19th century following the introduction of the railway to the area in 1839, forming part of the conurbation of London, similar to much of south-west Essex. The late 20th century was a period of severe economic dec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank Arthur Brock
Wing Commander Frank Arthur Brock (29 June 1884 – 23 April 1918) was a British officer commissioned into the Royal Artillery, the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) and finally, when the RNAS merged with the RFC, the Royal Air Force. He invented the explosive bullet that destroyed the German Zeppelins and he devised and executed the smoke screen used during the Zeebrugge Raid on 23 April 1918, an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge during the First World War. Background Brock was born in South Norwood, Surrey, the son of Arthur Brock of Haredon, Sutton, Surrey, of the famous C.T. Brock & Co. fireworks manufacturers. He was educated at Dulwich College where he blew up a stove in his form room. Brock joined the family business in 1901 (later becoming a director) where he remained until the outbreak of the First World War. He joined the Royal Artillery, being commissioned as a temporary lieutenant on 10 Octob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London Biggin Hill Airport
London Biggin Hill Airport is an operational general aviation airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located south-southeast of Central London. The airport was formerly a Royal Air Force station RAF Biggin Hill, and a small enclave on the airport still retains that designation. Biggin Hill is best known for its role during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War, when it served as one of the principal fighter bases protecting London and South East England from attack by German Luftwaffe bombers. Over the course of the war, fighters based at Biggin Hill claimed 1,400 enemy aircraft, at the cost of the lives of 453 Biggin Hill based aircrew. The airport has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P804) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Regional Airports Limited). It specialises in general aviation, handling a spectrum of traffic from private aviation to large business jets. It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Northolt
("Ready to carry or to fight") , pushpin_map = Greater London , pushpin_label = RAF Northolt , pushpin_map_caption = Shown within Greater London , coordinates = , type = Royal Air Force station , code = , site_area = , height = , ownership = Ministry of Defence , operator = Royal Air Force , controlledby = No. 2 Group (Air Combat Support) , condition = , built = , builder = , used = 1915–present , materials = , fate = , battles = , events = , current_commander = , past_commanders = , garrison = , occupants = * No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron * No. 63 Squadron RAF Regiment * No. 600 Squadron (RAuxAF) * No. 38 Expeditionary Air Wing * HQ RAF Music Services * Central Band of the RAF * Band of the Royal Air Force Regiment * 621 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Squadron * British Forces Post Office * No. 1 Aeronautical Information Documents Unit * Service Prosecution Authority , open_to_public = , website = , IATA =NHT , ICAO =EGWU , FAA = , TC = , L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_p18b_-_Bow_Bridge.jpg "Click for more on -> Stratford, London")
