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RAF Bassingbourn
Royal Air Force Bassingbourn or more simply RAF Bassingbourn is a former Royal Air Force Royal Air Force station, station located in Cambridgeshire approximately north of Royston, Hertfordshire, Royston, Hertfordshire and south west of Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England. During the Second World War it served first as an RAF station and then as a bomber airfield of the Eighth Air Force, of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). It remains the home of the Tower Museum Bassingbourn. Origin and development Construction RAF Bassingbourn was constructed by John Laing Group, John Laing & Son between 1937 and 1939 in the parishes of Wendy, Cambridgeshire, Wendy and Bassingbourn (village), Bassingbourn immediately to the west of the A14 road (Great Britain), A14 (now the A1198 road, A1198) road. The site selected was low ground between several tributaries of the River Cam. The area had been long cleared of forest and tended to be swampy and unstable, and because the boggy ground ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ensign Of The Royal Air Force
An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign (merchant ships) or the yacht ensign (recreational boats). Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle. The ensign differs from the jack (flag), jack, which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. In its widest sense, an ensign is just a flag or other standard. The European military rank of Ensign (rank), ensign, once responsible for bearing a unit's standard (whether national or regimental), derives from it (in the cavalry, the equivalent rank was Cornet (rank), cornet, named after a type of flag). Ensigns, such as the ancient Roman ensigns in the Arch of Constantine, are not always flags. National ensigns In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a shi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asphalt
Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term asphaltum was also used. Full text at Internet Archive (archive.org) The word is derived from the Ancient Greek ἄσφαλτος ''ásphaltos''. The largest natural deposit of asphalt in the world, estimated to contain 10 million tons, is the Pitch Lake located in La Brea in southwest Trinidad (Antilles island located on the northeastern coast of Venezuela), within the Siparia Regional Corporation. The primary use (70%) of asphalt is in Road surface, road construction, where it is used as the glue or binder mixed with construction aggregate, aggregate particles to create asphalt concrete. Its other main uses are for bituminous waterproofing products, including production of roofing felt and for sealing flat roofs. In material sciences an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hangar
A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish *''haimgard'' ("home-enclosure", "fence around a group of houses"), from *''haim'' ("home, village, hamlet") and ''gard'' ("yard"). The term, ''gard'', comes from the Old Norse ''garðr'' ("enclosure, garden"). Hangars are used for protection from the weather, direct sunlight and for maintenance, repair, manufacture, assembly and storage of aircraft. History The Wright brothers stored and repaired their aircraft in a wooden hangar constructed in 1902 at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina for their glider. After completing design and construction of the ''Wright Flyer'' in Ohio, the brothers returned to Kill Devil Hills only to find their hangar damaged. They repaired the structure and constructed a new workshop while they waited for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice Laing
Sir John Maurice Laing (1 February 1918 – 22 February 2008) was a senior executive of British construction company John Laing plc. He was the first president of the Confederation of British Industry in 1965–66. Early life Laing was born in Carlisle, Cumberland, the younger son of Sir John Laing. The family were strict Christian Brethren. Laing's father had been running the family construction firm, John Laing & Son, since 1910, and Laing worked for the firm in his school holidays. The headquarters of the business moved from Carlisle to Mill Hill in 1926, and Laing was educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate. In 1935, aged 17, he began to work full-time with his father at the family firm. Meanwhile, his elder brother, Sir William Kirby Laing, studied engineering at Cambridge University. After working as a trainee, he began managing the construction of new airfields and barrage balloon stations in 1938. World War II Despite his reserved occupation, and against his father's w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier, and the leaf-mimic katydid's wings. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern, making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate, as well as making general aiming easier. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. Some animals, such as chameleons and o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swamp
A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in creating this environment. Swamps vary in size and are located all around the world. The water of a swamp may be fresh water, brackish water, or seawater. Freshwater swamps form along large rivers or lakes where they are critically dependent upon rainwater and seasonal flooding to maintain natural water level fluctuations.Hughes, F.M.R. (ed.). 2003. The Flooded Forest: Guidance for policy makers and river managers in Europe on the restoration of floodplain forests. FLOBAR2, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. 96 p. Saltwater swamps are found along tropical and subtropical coastlines. Some swamps have hammock (ecology), hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
River Cam
The River Cam () is the main river flowing through Cambridge in eastern England. After leaving Cambridge, it flows north and east before joining the River Great Ouse to the south of Ely, at Pope's Corner. The total distance from Cambridge to the sea is about and is navigable for punts, small boats, and rowing craft. The Great Ouse also connects to England's canal system via the Middle Level Navigations and the River Nene. In total, the Cam runs for around from its furthest source (near Debden in Essex) to its confluence with the Great Ouse. Name The original name of the river was the ''Granta'' and (unusually) its present name derives from the city of Cambridge ( ang, Grantebrycge) rather than the other way around: After the city's present name developed in Middle English, the river's name was backformed to match. This was not universally applied, however, and the upper stretch of the river continues to be informally known as the Granta. It has been said''Bedders, Bulldo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A1198 Road
The A1198 is a road in Cambridgeshire, England, which runs between the A505 at Royston, and the A1307 on the outskirts of Huntingdon. Settlements along route * Royston * Kneesworth * Waddon Gap * Arrington * Caxton * Cambourne * Papworth Everard * Godmanchester History Roman Road The road follows the route of Ermine Street between the A505 at Royston, Hertfordshire and Godmanchester, near Huntingdon. 20th century This road was designated as a major road during road classification in 1922, and originally carried the number A14. When the M11 motorway was completed in February 1980, and traffic was encouraged to follow the new motorway and the Via Devana (then the A604, now the A1307 and A14 roads) instead. By 1991, most of the former A14 was renumbered as the A1198, with short section of the route from Huntingdon to Alconbury being renumbered as a spur of the A604. 21st century In August 2010, Cambridgeshire County Council Cambridgeshire County Council is the county ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A14 Road (Great Britain)
The A14 is a major trunk road in England, running from Catthorpe Interchange, a major intersection at the southern end of the M6 and junction 19 of the M1 in Leicestershire to the Port of Felixstowe, Suffolk. The road forms part of the unsigned Euroroutes E24 and E30. It is the busiest shipping lane in East Anglia carrying anything from cars to large amounts of cargo between the UK and Mainland Europe. Route Beginning at the Catthorpe Interchange, the A14 runs through Kettering, Northamptonshire towards Huntingdon where it now runs parallel to the A1 past Brampton, Cambridgeshire and now bypasses Huntingdon completely due to the A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon Scheme from 2017 until 2022. It continues past Bar Hill towards Cambridge to meet the end of the M11 and the A428 at the Girton Interchange. The A14 continues easterly over northern Cambridge towards Newmarket where it briefly joins with the A11 to form the Newmarket Bypass between J36 and J38. The A11 splits off again ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bassingbourn (village)
Bassingbourn cum Kneesworth is a civil parish in the South Cambridgeshire district of Cambridgeshire, England, 14 miles south-west of Cambridge and just north of Royston, Hertfordshire. Since the 1960s the parish contains the villages of Bassingbourn and Kneesworth. The parish is astride the Roman Ermine Street (now the A1198 and formerly the A14), and the two ancient tracks, Icknield Way and Ashwell Street. The Prime Meridian passes just to the east of the parish. History The ancient parish of Bassingbourn was an approximately rectangular area of 3,381 acres. Its long nearly-straight western boundary mostly follows an ancient field path that separates it from Litlington, and its straight eastern boundary is formed by the Roman Ermine Street, dividing it from Whaddon and Kneesworth. Its southern boundary with Hertfordshire originally followed the ancient Icknield Way, but as Royston grew, part of the parish was transferred to Hertfordshire. The border now follows the A505 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wendy, Cambridgeshire
Wendy is a hamlet in the civil parish of Shingay cum Wendy in South Cambridgeshire, England around 5 miles north west of Royston. History Wendy was a separate parish until 1957 when it was merged with neighbouring Shingay to form the present civil parish of Shingay cum Wendy. The historical parish covered an area of . Its northern border with Croydon (formerly Croydon-cum-Clapton) and Arrington followed the River Cam, and its western border with Wendy was marked by the North Ditch. The parish's straight eastern boundary with Whaddon follows the Roman Ermine Street (now the A1198), and its southern border with Bassingbourn and Abington Pigotts largely follow field boundaries. The hamlet itself is around a mile west of the Roman Road, just south of the river. There were 17 residents recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and there were probably around 80 in 1377, though numbers fell in later centuries. By 1801 there were 109 in the parish, rising to a peak of 154 in 1851 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Laing Group
John Laing Group plc is a British investor, developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) arrangements. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index until the court approved the acquisition of the company by KKR in September 2021. History The business can trace its roots back to 1848 when James Laing (born in 1816), along with his wife Ann Graham, and some employees whom they had hired, built a house on a plot of land that they had bought for £30 in Cumberland. The £150 proceeds from the first house financed the building of the next two houses on the same plot of land, one of which (Caldew House in Sebergham) was kept by the Laing family to live in. The family and the business later moved near Carlisle. When James Laing died in 1882, his son, John Laing (born in 1842) took ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
