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RAF Bourn
Royal Air Force Bourn or more simply RAF Bourn is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Bourn, Cambridgeshire and west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. History Bourn Airfield was constructed for RAF Bomber Command in 1940 as a satellite airfield for nearby RAF Oakington. It was used by No. 101 Squadron RAF Vickers Wellingtons for training purposes from 23 July 1941, and from October of that year 101 and 7 Squadrons used the airfield when Oakington became unavailable. On 9 April 1941, the airfield was subjected to the first of four raids when a Junkers Ju 88C strafed the airfield buildings and bombed the runway; however, little damage was done and there were no injuries. Two more raids on 8 and 23 May 1944 were made, the latter damaging two parked de Havilland Mosquitoes. As the strategic bombing offensive intensified, the losses mounted. By the time of the last operational sortie on 4 April 1945, a total of 164 aircraft had been lost, either from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bourn
Bourn is a small village and civil parish in South Cambridgeshire, England. Surrounding villages include Caxton, Eltisley and Cambourne. It is 8 miles (12 km) from the county town of Cambridge. The population of the parish was 1,015 people at the time of the 2011 census. Bourn has a Church of England primary school, a doctors' surgery, the Church of St. Mary & St. Helena, a golf club, a former Royal Air Force bomber airfield (RAF Station Bourn 1940–1945), which today is used for light aircraft, and an old windmill. Bourn Hall Clinic, the centre for infertility treatment founded in 1980 by IVF pioneers Mr Patrick Steptoe and Professor Robert Edwards, who were responsible for the conception of Louise Brown, the world's first IVF or test-tube baby in 1978, is also located here. Since its foundation the clinic has assisted in the conception of over 10,000 babies. A small stream called Bourn Brook runs through the village, eventually joining the River Cam. History The name B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oboe (navigation)
Oboe was a British bomb aiming system developed to allow their aircraft to bomb targets accurately in any type of weather, day or night. Oboe coupled radar tracking with radio transponder technology. The guidance system used two well separated radar stations to track the aircraft. Each Oboe tracking station used radio ranging to define a circle, the radius of which was the distance from the station to the target, the third point in the triangulation. The two circles intersected at the target. Radar pulses from each station were picked up by a transponder mounted in the aircraft. The aircraft transponder transmitted the signals back to the stations, after a slight delay. By assessing the time it took for the signal to return the distance between the station and the aircraft could be determined. One tracking station, the Cat station, was used to adjust the aircraft's flight path. The other station, the Mouse, was used to key the bomb release point. Oboe, in essence, was a ground- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Former Royal Air Force Stations
This list of former RAF stations includes most of the stations, airfields and administrative headquarters previously used by the Royal Air Force. The stations are listed under any former county or country name which was appropriate for the duration of operation. It has been stated that RAF stations took their name from the civil parish in which the station headquarters was located, rather than the nearest railway station (e.g., Binbrook has never had a railway station), but there are many exceptions. __TOC__ British Isles Chain Home, Chain Home Low, Chain Home Extra Low, ROTOR and tropo-scatter stations Notes: Some of the Chain Home Low sites were co-located with the larger Chain Home radars. Chain Home Extra Low equipment was co-located with "Chain Home" and "Chain Home Low" as well as at separate sites, but were of a less permanent nature, usually with mobile equipment. ROTOR was the post war Radar interception system created from existing radar installations. NARS ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bourn Airfield
Bourn Airport is located west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. The airfield was originally constructed during World War II as RAF Bourn Royal Air Force Bourn or more simply RAF Bourn is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Bourn, Cambridgeshire and west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. History Bourn Airfield was constructed for RAF Bomber Command in 1940 ... and was principally used as a base for heavy bombers - Wellingtons, Stirlings and Lancasters were all based at Bourn at one time or another. Nowadays, the airfield is used for recreational use, and flight training has been provided by the Bourn Rural Flying Corps for in excess of 30 years. The airfield is owned by the Taylor Family. References External linksRural Flying Corps Airports in England Transport in Cambridgeshire Airports in the East of England {{UK-airport-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Maintenance Command
RAF Maintenance Command was the Royal Air Force command which was responsible for controlling maintenance for all the United Kingdom-based units from formation on 1 April 1938 until being renamed RAF Support Command on 31 August 1973. History Maintenance Command was formed in 1938. No. 40 Group RAF was formed within the command on 3 January 1939, and responsible for all equipment except bombs and explosives.Air of Authority No. 42 Group RAF was made responsible for fuel and ammunition storage. In 1940, technical control (but not administrative control) of No. 41 Group and No. 43 Group of Maintenance Command passed to the Ministry of Aircraft Production. One important change made within days of the Ministry's creation was it taking over the RAF aircraft storage Maintenance Units which were found to have accepted 1,000 aircraft from industry, but issued only 650 to squadrons. These management and organisational changes bore results almost immediately: in the first four mont ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Airfields Of Britain Conservation Trust
The Airfields of Britain Conservation Trust (ABCT), founded 2006, is a non-profit organisation that works to preserve and protect airfields in Great Britain, as well as educating people about their history. The Trust is a registered charity. They place inscribed memorial stones on or near disused airfields, which have included a memorial at Fambridge, Essex in February 2009, at Windermere in Cumbria in 2011 and at Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre in May 2012. Other memorial locations include Harrowbeer, Hatfield, Lanark, Leavesden, Matlaske, Okehampton, Podington, Swannington, Westcott and Woburn Park Woburn Abbey (), occupying the east of the village of Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the family seat of the Duke of Bedford. Although it is still a family home to the current duke, it is open on specified days to visitors, .... References External links * Charities based in Glasgow Conservation in the United Kingdom Aviation history of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consolidated B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models designated as various LB-30s, in the Land Bomber design category. At its inception, the B-24 was a modern design featuring a highly efficient shoulder-mounted, high aspect ratio Davis wing. The wing gave the Liberator a high cruise speed, long range and the ability to carry a heavy bomb load. Early RAF Liberators were the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean as a matter of routine. In comparison with its contemporaries, the B-24 was relatively difficult to fly and had poor low-speed performance; it also had a lower ceiling and was less robust than the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. While aircrews tended to prefer the B-17, General Staff favored the B-24 and procured it in huge numbers for a wide variety of roles. At approximately 18,5 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II (1941–1945). It was created on 20 June 1941 as successor to the previous United States Army Air Corps and is the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force, today one of the six United States Armed Forces, armed forces of the United States. The AAF was a component of the United States Army, which on 2 March 1942 was divided functionally by executive order into three autonomous forces: the Army Ground Forces, the United States Army Services of Supply (which in 1943 became the Army Service Forces), and the Army Air Forces. Each of these forces had a commanding general who reported directly to the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Army Chief of Staff. The AAF administered all parts of military aviation formerly distributed am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madingley
Madingley is a small village near Cambridge, England. It is located close to the nearby villages of Coton and Dry Drayton on the western outskirts of Cambridge. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 210. The village was known as ''Madingelei'' in the Domesday Book, a name meaning "Woodland clearing of the family or followers of a man called Mada". Madingley is well known for its 16th-century manor house, Madingley Hall, which is owned by the University of Cambridge. Madingley Hall The village is home to Madingley Hall, which was built by Sir John Hynde in 1543 and occupied as a residence by his descendants until the 1860s. It is surrounded by parkland. Queen Victoria rented the Hall in 1860 for her son Edward (the future King Edward VII) to live in while he was an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge. The family sold the Hall in 1871. University of Cambridge The Madingley Hall estate, including its surrounding park and farmland have been owned by t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Stirling
The Short Stirling was a British four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It has the distinction of being the first four-engined bomber to be introduced into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Stirling was designed during the late 1930s by Short Brothers to conform with the requirements laid out in Air Ministry Specification B.12/36. Prior to this, the RAF had been primarily interested in developing increasingly capable twin-engined bombers, but had been persuaded to investigate a prospective four-engined bomber as a result of promising foreign developments in the field. Out of the submissions made to the specification, Supermarine proposed the Type 317, which was viewed as the favourite, whereas Short's submission, named the S.29, was selected as an alternative. When the preferred Type 317 had to be abandoned, the S.29, which later received the name Stirling, proceeded to production. In early 1941, the Stirling entered squadron service. During its use as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Light Night Strike Force
The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, which a main bomber force could aim at, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were normally the first to receive new blind-bombing aids like Gee, Oboe and the H2S radar. The early Pathfinder Force (PFF) squadrons was expanded to become a group, No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group in January 1943. The initial Pathfinder Force was five squadrons, while No. 8 Group ultimately grew to a strength of 19 squadrons. While the majority of Pathfinder squadrons and personnel were from the Royal Air Force, the group also included many from the air forces of other Commonwealth countries. History Background At the start of the war in September 1939, RAF Bomber Command's doctrine was based on tight formations of heavily armed bombers attacking during daylight and fending off attacks by fighters with their defensive guns. In early missions ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
