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RAF Fersfield
Royal Air Force Fersfield or more simply RAF Fersfield (originally known as RAF Winfarthing) is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Norwich, Norfolk, England. History Built in 1943/1944, the airfield was originally a satellite of RAF Knettishall. It was constructed to Class A bomber specifications, with a main runway (08/26), and two secondary runways (02/20, 14/32) of . Accommodation for about 2,000 personnel was in Nissen huts, along with an operations block and two T-2 hangars. The facility was originally named Winfarthing when it was allocated to the United States Army Air Forces in 1942. Assigned to the VIII Bomber Command, it was renamed Fersfield when used by the Americans. Winfarthing was assigned USAAF station number 140; Fersfield was reassigned 554. Not used by the USAAF, it was transferred to the United States Navy for operational use. Operation Aphrodite The airfield is most notable as the base for Operation Aphrodite, a secret plan for ... [...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] |
Class A Airfield
Class A airfields were World War II military installations constructed to specifications laid down by the British Air Ministry Directorate-General of Works (AMDGW). Intended for use by heavy bombers and transports, they were the standard air base design for the Royal Air Force as well as U.S. Army Air Forces units operating from the UK. Upon the entry of the US into the war a number of RAF Class A bases were transferred to the U.S. Eighth Air Force for use as heavy bomber bases with the RAF units formerly occupying them being redeployed to other RAF bomber airfields, and U.S. Army Engineer Units constructed more airfields to this standard or brought earlier airfields up to this specification by lengthening runways, etc. Many units of the U.S. Ninth Air Force also flew from Class A airfields. The term Class 'A' came about because, quite often, the resultant aerial shot of the crossed runways would look like the letter A. Design The specifications set by the British Air Ministry ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flak
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, subsurface ( submarine launched), and air-based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements, and passive measures (e.g. barrage balloons). It may be used to protect naval, ground, and air forces in any location. However, for most countries, the main effort has tended to be homeland defence. NATO refers to airborne air defence as counter-air and naval air defence as anti-aircraft warfare. Missile defence is an extension of air defence, as are initiatives to adapt air defence to the task of intercepting any projectile in flight. In some countries, such as Britain and Germany during the Second World War, the Soviet Union, and modern NATO and the United States, ground-based air defence and air defence aircraf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orford, Suffolk
Orford is a village with historic town status in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB. It is located east of Woodbridge. History Like many Suffolk coastal towns it was of some importance as a port and fishing village in the Middle Ages. It has a mediaeval castle, built to dominate the River Ore and a Grade I listed parish church, St Bartholomew's. The castle was built as a royal castle built by Henry II in the period 1165-1173 as an assertion of monarchical power in the region. Although the castle became less important after the king's death in 1189, the importance of Orford as a port grew. By 1200 its level of trade exceeded that of nearby Ipswich. Henry III granted Orford its first charter and the town returned a member of parliament in 1298, although it did not function as a constituency throughout the 14th century. Local amenities The population of Orford greatly increases during the summer months, partly due to its flourishing sailing club. In comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pas-de-Calais
Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, 890, and is the 8th most populous. It had a population of 1,465,278 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 62 Pas-de-Calais INSEE The Calais Passage connects to the on the . Pas-de-Calais borders the departments of [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Woodbridge
Royal Air Force Woodbridge or RAF Woodbridge, is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Woodbridge in the county of Suffolk, England. Constructed in 1943 as a Royal Air Force (RAF) military airfield during the Second World War to assist damaged aircraft to land on their return from raids over Germany it was later used by the United States Air Force during the Cold War, being the primary home for the 79th Tactical Fighter Squadron and the 78th Tactical Fighter Squadron and squadrons of the 81st Fighter Wing under various designations until 1993. For many years, the 81st Fighter Wing also operated from nearby RAF Bentwaters, with Bentwaters and Woodbridge being known as the "Twin Bases". Since 2006, it has been known as MOD Woodbridge, incorporating Woodbridge Airfield and Rock Barracks. Woodbridge Airfield is used by Army Air Corps aircraft for training and Rock Barracks are home to the newly formed 23 Engineer Regiment (Air Assault) of the Royal Engineers. History ... [...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] |
388th Fighter Wing
The 388th Fighter Wing (388FW) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Combat Command Fifteenth Air Force. The unit is stationed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Units 388th Operations Group (388 OG) * 4th Fighter Squadron (4 FS) : The squadron is the second unit at Hill to transition to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II after retiring the F-16 in May 2016. It prepares to deploy worldwide to conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground operations for daylight and nighttime missions. * 421st Fighter Squadron (421 FS) : The squadron conducts flying operations to maintain combat readiness of a 24-aircraft F-16CG squadron. It prepares to deploy worldwide to conduct Day/Night air superiority and precision strike sorties employing laser-guided and inertially aided munitions during contingencies and combat. * 34th Fighter Squadron : This squadron is the first operational F-35A Lightning II fighter squadron in the world. It was declared combat-ready on 2 August 2016 after tran ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Submarine Pen
A submarine pen (''U-Boot-Bunker'' in German) is a type of submarine base that acts as a bunker to protect submarines from air attack. The term is generally applied to submarine bases constructed during World War II, particularly in Germany and its occupied countries, which were also known as U-boat pens (after the phrase "U-boat" to refer to German submarines). Background Among the first forms of protection for submarines were some open-sided shelters with partial wooden foundations that were constructed during World War I. These structures were built at the time when bombs were light enough to be dropped by hand from the cockpit. By the 1940s, the quality of aerial weapons and the means to deliver them had improved markedly. The mid-1930s saw the Naval Construction Office in Berlin give the problem serious thought. Various factions in the navy were convinced protection for the expanding U-boat arm was required. A Royal Air Force (RAF) raid on the capital in 1940, the occupati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
V-1 Flying Bomb
The V-1 flying bomb (german: Vergeltungswaffe 1 "Vengeance Weapon 1") was an early cruise missile. Its official Ministry of Aviation (Nazi Germany), Reich Aviation Ministry () designation was Fi 103. It was also known to the Allies as the buzz bomb or doodlebug and in Germany as (cherry stone) or (maybug). The V-1 was the first of the (V-weapons) deployed for the terror bombing of London. It was developed at Peenemünde Army Research Center in 1939 by the at the beginning of the Second World War, and during initial development was known by the codename "Cherry Stone". Because of its limited range, the thousands of V-1 missiles launched into England were fired from V-1 flying bomb facilities, launch facilities along the French (Pas-de-Calais) and Dutch coasts. The Wehrmacht first launched the V-1s against London on 13 June 1944, one week after (and prompted by) the successful Operation Overlord, Allied landings in France. At peak, more than one hundred V-1s a day were fire ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater of Operations and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. It is the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft. In a USAAC competition, Boeing's prototype Model 299/XB-17 outperformed two other entries but crashed, losing the initial 200-bomber contract to the Douglas B-18 Bolo. Still, the Air Corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation, then introduced it into service in 1938. The B-17 evolved through numerous design advances but from its inception, the USAAC (later, the USAAF) promoted the aircraft a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Operation Aphrodite
Aphrodite and Anvil were the World War II code names of United States Army Air Forces and United States Navy operations to use Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated PB4Y bombers as precision-guided munitions against bunkers and other hardened/reinforced enemy facilities, such as "Crossbow" operations against German long range missiles. The missions were not generally successful, and the intended targets in Europe were either overrun by the ground advance of Allied troops or disabled by conventional attacks by aircraft. Proposal The plan called for B-17E/Fs that had been taken out of operational service (various nicknames existed such as "robot", "baby", "drone" or "weary Willy") to be loaded to capacity with explosives, and flown by radio control into bomb-resistant fortifications such as German U-boat pens and V-weapon sites. By late 1943, General Henry H. Arnold had directed Brigadier General Grandison Gardner's electronic engineers at Eglin Field, Florida, to outfit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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