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RAF Box
RAF Rudloe Manor, formerly RAF Box, was a Royal Air Force station located north-east of Bath, England, between the settlements of Box and Corsham, in Wiltshire. It was one of several military installations situated in the area and covered three dispersed sites. The sites are now used by Defence Digital. History The station was established on top of quarries from which Bath Stone had been extracted. In the 1930s some of the tunnels had been converted for use as a Central Ammunition Depot. The vast caverns had some of space, divided into many smaller chambers. During the Second World War, the Operations Centre of No. 10 Group RAF was housed there in three buildings (Operations Room, Filter Room and Communications Centre), which were partially buried for protection, in a similar way to buildings for No. 9 Group at RAF Barton Hall, No. 11 Group RAF at RAF Uxbridge, No. 12 Group RAF at RAF Watnall, No. 13 Group RAF at RAF Newcastle and No. 14 Group RAF at Raigmore House in Invern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corsham
Corsham is a historic market town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England. It is at the south-eastern edge of the Cotswolds, just off the A4 national route, southwest of Swindon, southeast of Bristol, northeast of Bath and southwest of Chippenham. Historically, Corsham was a centre for agriculture and later, the wool industry, and remains a focus for quarrying Bath Stone. It has several notable historic buildings; among them the stately home of Corsham Court. During the Second World War and the Cold War it became a major administrative and manufacturing centre for the Ministry of Defence, with numerous establishments both above ground and in disused quarry tunnels. The parish includes the villages of Gastard and Neston, which is at the gates of the Neston Park estate. History Corsham appears to derive its name from ''Cosa's hām'', "ham" being Old English for homestead, or village. The town is referred in the Domesday book as ''Cosseham''; the letter 'R' appears t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week. History A Women's Royal Air Force had existed from 1918 to 1920. The WAAF was created on 28 June 1939, absorbing the forty-eight RAF companies of the Auxiliary Territorial Service which had existed since 1938. Conscription of women did not begin until 1941. It only applied to those between 20 and 30 years of age and they had the choice of the auxiliary services or factory work. Women recruited into the WAAF were given basic training at one of five sites, though not all of the sites ran training simultaneously. The five sites were at West Drayton, Harrogate, Bridgnorth, Innsworth and Wilmslow. All WAAF basic recruit training was located at Wilmslow from 1943. WAAFs did not serve as aircrew. The use of women ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom Warning And Monitoring Organisation
The United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation (UKWMO) was a British civilian organisation operating to provide UK military and civilian authorities with data on nuclear explosions and forecasts of fallout across the country in the event of nuclear war. The UKWMO was established in 1957 and funded by the Home Office and used its own premises which were mainly staffed by Royal Observer Corps (ROC) uniformed full-time and volunteer personnel as the fieldforce. The ROC was administered by the Ministry of Defence but mainly funded by the Home Office. The only time the combined organisations were on high alert in the Cold War was during Cuban Missile Crisis in October and November 1962. The organisation was wound up and disbanded in November 1992 following a review prompted by the government's Options for Change report. Its emblem-of-arms was a pair of classic hunting horns crossing each other, pointed upwards, with the enscrolled motto "Sound An Alarm", a title also used fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lansdown, Bath
Lansdown is a suburb of the World Heritage City of Bath, England, that extends northwards from the city centre up a road of the same name. Among its most distinctive architectural features are Lansdown Crescent and Sion Hill Place, which includes a campus of Bath Spa University. Beckford's Tower, an architectural folly built in neo-classical style for William Thomas Beckford in 1827, stands on high ground at the northern edge of the suburb, overlooking Lansdown Cemetery. Lansdown Hill Lansdown Road climbs north-west through the suburb and continues into open land in Charlcombe parish, past a park-and-ride facility and playing fields to the Lansdown Hill area. Here (outside the city boundary) are Lansdown hamlet, Bath Racecourse, and Lansdown Golf Course. The Battle of Lansdowne (1643) was fought in the vicinity and is commemorated by Sir Bevil Grenville's Monument (1720) on Lansdown Hill. Cricket club Lansdown Cricket Club, founded in 1825 and the oldest club in Somerse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Observer Corps
The Royal Observer Corps (ROC) was a civil defence organisation intended for the visual detection, identification, tracking and reporting of aircraft over Great Britain. It operated in the United Kingdom between 29 October 1925 and 31 December 1995, when the Corps' civilian volunteers were stood down (ROC headquarters staff at RAF Bentley Priory stood down on 31 March 1996). Composed mainly of civilian spare-time volunteers, ROC personnel wore a Royal Air Force (RAF) style uniform and latterly came under the administrative control of RAF Strike Command and the operational control of the Home Office. Civilian volunteers were trained and administered by a small cadre of professional full-time officers under the command of the Commandant Royal Observer Corps; latterly a serving RAF Air Commodore. Overview In 1925, following a Defence Committee initiative undertaken the previous year, the formation of an RAF command concerning the Air Defence of Great Britain led to the provis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Henlow
RAF Henlow is a Royal Air Force station in Bedfordshire, England, equidistant from Bedford, Luton and Stevenage. It houses the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, the Joint Arms Control Implementation Group (JACIG), elements of Defence Equipment and Support, and the Signals Museum. It formerly hosted light aircraft flying and 616 Volunteer Gliding Squadron. The Ministry of Defence announced on 6 September 2016 that the base is set to be closed following a consultation. History Henlow was chosen as a military aircraft repair depot in 1917 and was built by MacAlpine during 1918. Four Belfast Hangars were built and are now listed buildings. Henlow Camp, a civilian settlement, grew up around the base at that time. Originally a repair depot for aircraft from the Western Front, the Station officially opened on 18 May 1918 when Lt Col Robert Francis Stapleton-Cotton arrived with a party of 40 airmen from Farnborough. In May 1920, RAF Henlow became the first parachute testing centre and w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Police
The Royal Air Force Police (RAFP) is the service police branch of the Royal Air Force, headed by the provost marshal of the Royal Air Force. Its headquarters are at RAF Honington and it deploys throughout the world to support RAF and UK defence missions. History The RAFP was formed on 1 April 1918, when the RAF was formed by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. By the end of World War II there were 500 officers and 20,000 NCOs in the RAFP. In January 1947, the RAF Provost Branch became a Specialist Branch within the RAF. In December 1950, George VI approved the badge and motto ''Fiat Justitia''. By 2009, the RAFP had served in 66 countries around the globe. Uniform and insignia RAFP non-commissioned officers and warrant officers are noticeable by their white-topped caps (giving rise to their nickname of "Snowdrops"), which they have worn since 1945, and by black and red flashes worn below their rank slides. RAFP commissioned officers we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skynet (satellites)
Skynet is a family of military communications satellites, now operated by Airbus Defence and Space on behalf of the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (MoD). They provide strategic and tactical communication services to the branches of the British Armed Forces, the British intelligence agencies, some UK government departments and agencies, and to allied governments. Since 2015 when Skynet coverage was extended eastward, and in conjunction with an Anik G1 satellite module over America, Skynet offers near global coverage. The Skynet contract allow Airbus Defence and Space to sell surplus bandwidth, through the Skynet partner programme, to NATO and allied governments, including the Five Eyes intelligence alliance members (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States). As of 2020, seven Skynet satellites are operating, plus Anik G1. The Skynet 1 to 4 series were developed and operated by the Signals Research and Development Establishment, Royal Sign ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Area 51
Area 51 is the common name of a highly classified United States Air Force (USAF) facility within the Nevada Test and Training Range. A remote detachment administered by Edwards Air Force Base, the facility is officially called Homey Airport or Groom Lake (after the salt flat next to its airfield). Details of its operations are not made public, but the USAF says that it is an open training range, and it is commonly thought to support the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems. The USAF and CIA acquired the site in 1955, primarily for flight testing the Lockheed U-2 aircraft. The intense secrecy surrounding the base has made it the frequent subject of conspiracy theories and a central component of unidentified flying object (UFO) folklore. It has never been declared a secret base, but all research and occurrences in Area 51 are Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI). The CIA publicly acknowledged the base's existence on June 25, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Technical Training Command
Technical Training Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force which controlled units responsible for delivering aircraft maintenance training and other non-flying training, initially in Berkshire and then in Cambridgeshire. History Technical Training Command was formed from the elements of Training Command which were responsible for delivering aircraft maintenance training and other non-flying training on 27 May 1940. In 1945 the Command moved from Shinfield Park, Reading in Berkshire, where it had been established, to Brampton Grange in Cambridgeshire. No. 26 Group RAF was reformed on 12 February 1940 within RAF Training Command, and transferred to Technical Training Command on 27 May 1940. It was transferred to RAF Bomber Command on 10 February 1942. In its 13 May 1955 issue, ''Flight'' described the command as consisting of the RAF Technical College at RAF Henlow and RAF Debden, Nos 22, 24, and 27 Groups, No. 1 School of Technical Training RAF at Halton, N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Training Command
Training Command was the Royal Air Force's command responsible for flying and ground training from 1936 to 1940 and again from 1968 to 1977. Training Command was formed from RAF Inland Area on 1 May 1936 and absorbed into RAF Support Command on 13 June 1977.Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - RAF Home Commands formed between 1936 - 1938 From 27 May 1940 to 1 June 1968, Training Command did not exist as its functions were split into and |
Fighter Command
RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It served throughout the Second World War. It earned near-immortal fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940, when the Few held off the Luftwaffe attack on Britain. The Command continued until 17 November 1943, when it was disbanded and the RAF fighter force was split into two categories; defence and attack. The defensive force became Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) and the offensive force became the RAF Second Tactical Air Force. Air Defence of Great Britain was renamed back to Fighter Command in October 1944 and continued to provide defensive patrols around Great Britain. It was disbanded for the second time in 1968, when it was subsumed into the new Strike Command. Origins On 20 May 1926, the forerunner of Fighter Command was established as a group within Inland Area. On 1 June 1926, Fighting Area was transferred to the Air D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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