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Vice-Chief Of The Air Staff (United Kingdom)
The British Vice-Chief of the Air Staff (VCAS) was the post occupied by the senior Royal Air Force officer who served as a senior assistant to the Chief of the Air Staff. The post was created during World War II on 22 April 1940 and its incumbent sat on the Air Council. It was abolished in 1985 when the post's responsibilities were combined with those of the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Policy) and the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) to create a single post, the Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. The Vice-Chief was responsible for defining the operational requirements for the RAF and conducting wider strategic planning. Vice-Chiefs of the Air Staff Holders of the post included: *22 April 1940 – 4 October 1940 Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse *4 October 1940 – 19 October 1942 Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman *19 October 1942 – 21 March 1943 Air Vice-Marshal C E H Medhurst (acting) Air Chief Marshal Tedder had been due to take the appointment but aft ... [...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] |
Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman
Air Chief Marshal Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman, (17 January 1899 – 28 April 1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in the middle of the 20th century and the penultimate RAF commander-in-chief of the Indian Air Force. Early life and the First World War Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman was born on 17 January 1899 in British Guiana. He came to England with his parents in 1903 and attended Cheltenham College. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 and served as a Bristol Fighter pilot on the western front with 10 Squadron in the last eleven months of the war. Between the wars In January 1929, then a flight lieutenant in the RAF, Ivelaw-Chapman participated in the Kabul Airlift, a successful evacuation of the British Legation in Kabul amidst a civil war and a bitter winter. On 27 January a Kabul-bound Vickers Victoria, piloted by Ivelaw-Chapman, was forced to make an emergency landing in the mountainous Surobi District. Rescued by an Afghan royalist officer, Ivelaw-Chapm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1985 Disestablishments In The United Kingdom
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a new agreement on fishing rights. * January 7 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches '' Sakigake'', Japan's first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union. * January 15 – Tancredo Neves is elected president of Brazil by the Congress, ending the 21-year military rule. * January 20 – Ronald Reagan is privately sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. * January 27 – The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is formed, in Tehran. * January 28 – The charity single record "We Are the World" is recorded by USA for Africa. February * February 4 – The border between Gibraltar an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1940 Establishments In The United Kingdom
Year 194 ( CXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Septimius and Septimius (or, less frequently, year 947 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 194 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. Events By place Roman Empire * Emperor Septimius Severus and Decimus Clodius Septimius Albinus Caesar become Roman Consuls. * Battle of Issus: Septimius Severus marches with his army (12 legions) to Cilicia, and defeats Pescennius Niger, Roman governor of Syria. Pescennius retreats to Antioch, and is executed by Severus' troops. * Septimius Severus besieges Byzantium (194–196); the city walls suffer extensive damage. Asia * Battle of Yan Province: Warlords Cao Cao and Lü Bu fight for control over Yan Province; the battle lasts for over 100 days ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Harding (RAF Officer, Born 1933)
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Peter Robin Harding, (2 December 1933 – 19 August 2021) was a Royal Air Force officer who served as a bomber pilot in the 1950s, a helicopter squadron commander in the 1960s and a station commander in the 1970s. He became Chief of the Air Staff in 1988 and served in that role during the Gulf War in 1991. He became Chief of the Defence Staff in December 1992 but resigned after his affair with Lady (Bienvenida) Buck, the wife of Conservative MP Antony Buck, became public. Early life and education Harding was born on 2 December 1933 in Lambeth, London, to Elizabeth (née Clear) and Peter Harding. He was educated at Chingford High School.'' Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010, RAF career Harding was commissioned into the Royal Air Force as an acting pilot officer on national service on 3 September 1952 and given a permanent commission in the same rank on 15 October 1952. He was promoted to the substantive rank of pilot officer on 12 Augu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Craig, Baron Craig Of Radley
Marshal of the Royal Air Force David Brownrigg Craig, Baron Craig of Radley, (born 17 September 1929) is a retired Royal Air Force officer and member of the House of Lords. He was a fast jet pilot in the 1950s, a squadron commander in the 1960s and a station commander in the 1970s. He served as Chief of the Air Staff during the late 1980s, when the Boeing Airborne early warning and control system was ordered and the European Fighter programme was being developed. He then served as Chief of the Defence Staff during the Gulf War. He was granted a life peerage as Baron Craig of Radley after his retirement from active service in 1991, sitting as a crossbencher. As of 2022, he is the last living officer in the British Armed Forces to have held a five-star rank whilst on active service. Early life The son of Major Francis Brownrigg Craig and his wife Olive Craig, Craig grew up in the Irish Free State, and was largely unaffected by the events of the Second World War.Probert, p. 9 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Nicholls (RAF Officer)
Air Marshal Sir John Moreton Nicholls, (5 July 1926 – 17 May 2007) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He had been a pilot at the end of the Second World War and also served with the United States Air Force in the Korean War. Early life Nicholls was educated at the Liverpool Collegiate School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford.Obituary: Air Marshal Sir John Nicholls Daily Telegraph, 21 May 2007 Career Nicholls joined the Royal Air Force in June 1945 and served as a pilot during the later stages of the .[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Terry
Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter David George Terry, (18 October 1926 – 19 December 2017) was a senior Royal Air Force commander who held a number of high-level British and NATO posts. Terry was Governor of Gibraltar from 1985 to 1989. Royal Air Force career Terry joined the Royal Air Force in the ranks as an RAF Regiment aircraftman 2nd class on 17 July 1946. His potential for officer service was quickly recognised and Terry was commissioned as a pilot officer in the RAF Regiment on 29 May 1947. Spending the next nine years as a junior officer in the RAF Regiment, serving on LIght Anti-Aircraft sqns in RAF Germany and as Personal Staff Officer to the Commandant-General of the RAF Regiment. He transferred to the General Duties Branch in April 1956. During the later 1950s and 1960s, he worked his way up the officer ranks. As a group captain, Terry was station commander of RAF El Adem, Libya, from 1969 to 1970. He was there in September 1969 when Colonel Gaddafi overthrew King Idris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Evans (RAF Officer)
Air Chief Marshal Sir David George Evans, (14 July 1924 – 21 February 2020) was a senior commander of the Royal Air Force. Career Born and educated in Canada, Evans was commissioned into the Royal Air Force as a pilot officer under an emergency commission on 7 April 1944 during the Second World War. He underwent pilot training in Canada and he then completed operational training in Ismaïlia in Egypt. On 7 October 1944, he was promoted to flying officer (war substantive). Evans was one of the first RAF officers to enter Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. He was promoted to flight lieutenant (war substantive) on 7 April 1946. His promotion to flying officer was confirmed on 30 September 1947 with seniority from 7 April 1946. Evans was promoted to the substantive rank of flight lieutenant on 29 October 1948, with promotions to squadron leader on 1 October 1954, to wing commander on 1 July 1959 and to group captain on 1 July 1964. He piloted the British bobsleigh team at th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruthven Wade
Air Chief Marshal Sir Ruthven Lowry "Gerry" Wade, (15 July 1920 – 24 September 2001) was a senior Royal Air Force officer who served as Vice-Chief of the Air Staff from 1973 to 1976. RAF career Educated at Cheltenham College, Wade joined the Royal Air Force in 1938 and served in the Second World War. After the War he became Officer Commanding No. 39 Squadron and then Station Commander at RAF Gaydon. He was appointed Director of Operations – Bomber and Reconnaissance in 1966, Air Executive to Deputy for Nuclear Affairs at SHAPE in 1967 and Air Officer Commanding No. 1 Group in 1968. He went on to be Deputy Commander-in-Chief at RAF Germany The former Royal Air Force Germany (RAFG) was a command of the Royal Air Force and part of British Forces Germany. It consisted of units located in Germany, initially as part of the occupation following the Second World War, and later as part o ... in 1971, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) in January 1973 and Vice-Chief ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denis Smallwood
Air Chief Marshal Sir Denis Graham Smallwood, (13 August 1918 – 26 July 1997) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. RAF career Educated at King Edward VI School in Birmingham, Smallwood joined the Royal Air Force in 1938. Smallwood took part in the Second World War and in November 1941 he was appointed Officer Commanding of No. 87 Squadron flying Hurricanes. In 1948 he became Officer Commanding No. 33 Squadron and in 1959 he joined the Directing Staff at the Joint Staff Services College before becoming Station Commander at RAF Biggin Hill in 1953. He became Group Captain, Plans for the Air Task Force in 1956 and then Officer Commanding RAF North Coates in 1959 before becoming Commandant of the College of Air Warfare in 1961. In 1963 he was made Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) and in 1965 he was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 3 Group. He went on to be Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters, Bomber Command in 1967, Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Fletcher (RAF Officer)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Carteret Fletcher, (7 October 1916 – 2 January 1999) was a senior Royal Air Force officer who served as Vice-Chief of the Air Staff from 1967 to 1970. RAF career Educated at St George's College and Rhodes University in South Africa, Fletcher joined the Royal Rhodesian Air Force in 1939 and then transferred to the Royal Air Force. He served in the Second World War as Officer Commanding No. 258 Squadron and as Station Commander at RAF Belvedere in Southern Rhodesia before joining the Directing Staff RAF Staff College (Overseas) in Haifa. After the war he joined the Directing Staff at the Joint Services Staff College and then became a member of the Joint Planning Staff at the Air Ministry. He was appointed Air Attaché in Oslo in 1953, a member of the Directing Staff at the Imperial Defence College in 1956 and Station Commander at RAF Abingdon in 1958. He went on to be Deputy Director of the Joint Planning Staff in 1960, Director of Operational Requ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
