|
Nicholas Alkemade
Nicholas Stephen Alkemade (10 December 1922 – 22 June 1987) was a British tail gunner in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War who survived a freefall of without a parachute after abandoning his out-of-control, burning Avro Lancaster heavy bomber over Germany. War service On the night of 24 March 1944, 21-year-old Flight Sergeant Alkemade was one of seven crew members in Avro Lancaster B Mk. II, ''DS664'', of No. 115 Squadron RAF flying from RAF Witchford. Returning from a 300-bomber Bombing of Berlin in World War II, raid on Berlin, east of Schmallenberg, ''DS664'' was attacked by a German Junkers Ju 88 night-fighter flown by ''Oberleutnant'' Heinz Rökker of . The attack caused the Lancaster to catch fire and began to spiral out of control. He was not wearing a parachute as there was no room in the turret, so he climbed towards the middle of the plane to get a parachute, but was initially beaten back by the flames. His parachute eventually caught fire and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Tail Gunner
A tail gunner or rear gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against enemy fighter or interceptor attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane. The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun or autocannon emplacement in the tail end of the aircraft with an unobstructed view toward the rear of the aircraft. While the term ''tail gunner'' is usually associated with a crewman inside a gun turret, the first tail guns were operated from open apertures within the aircraft's fuselage, such as the Scarff ring mechanism used in the British Handley Page V/1500, which was introduced during latter months of the First World War. Increasingly capable tail gunner positions were developed during the interwar period and the Second World War, resulting in the emergence of the powered turret and fire control systems incorporating radar guidance. In particularly advanced tail gunner arrangements, the tail armament may be operated by remote control fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Oberkirchen (Schmallenberg)
Oberkirchen is a locality in the municipality Schmallenberg in the High Sauerland District in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The village has 780 inhabitants and lies in the east of the municipality of Schmallenberg at a height of around 442 m. The river flows through the village. In the village centre the Bundesstraße
''Bundesstraße'' (, ), abbreviated ''B'', is the denotation for German and Austrian national highways.
Germany
Germany's ''Bundesstraßen'' network has a total length of a ...
[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
List Of Sole Survivors Of Aviation Accidents Or Incidents
This list includes sole survivors of aviation accidents and incidents that involved ten or more onboard. Within this list, "sole survivor" refers to a person who survived an air accident in which all other aircraft occupants died as a direct consequence of the accident. This list does not include initial survivors who later died (possibly in another location) due to injuries sustained during the accident, and aircraft collisions ( ground or flight) in which the sole occupant of the opposing aircraft survives (e.g., All Nippon Airways Flight 58 and Eastern Air Lines Flight 537). Also excluded are the numerous incidents of sole survivors of accidents and combat losses related to heavy bombers during World War II which frequently had ten or more crewmembers. The most recent aviation accident with a sole survivor is Air India Flight 171, which crashed on . History The earliest known sole survivor is Lou Foote. On 17 March 1929, as the pilot of a Jersey sightseeing flight, he attem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Freefall
In classical mechanics, free fall is any motion of a body where gravity is the only force acting upon it. A freely falling object may not necessarily be falling down in the vertical direction. If the common definition of the word "fall" is used, an object moving upwards is not considered to be falling, but using scientific definitions, if it is subject to only the force of gravity, it is said to be in free fall. The Moon is thus in free fall around the Earth, though its orbital speed keeps it in very far orbit from the Earth's surface. In a roughly uniform gravitational field gravity acts on each part of a body approximately equally. When there are no other forces, such as the normal force exerted between a body (e.g. an astronaut in orbit) and its surrounding objects, it will result in the sensation of weightlessness, a condition that also occurs when the gravitational field is weak (such as when far away from any source of gravity). The term "free fall" is often used more lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Vesna Vulović
Vesna Vulović ( sr-Cyrl, Весна Вуловић, ; 3 January 195023 December 2016) was a Serbian flight attendant who survived the highest fall without a parachute: or 33,333 feet. She was the sole survivor of JAT Flight 367 after an explosion tore through the baggage compartment on 26 January 1972, causing it to crash near Srbská Kamenice, Czechoslovakia (now part of the Czech Republic). Air safety investigators attributed the explosion to a briefcase bomb. The Yugoslav authorities suspected that émigré Croatian nationalists were to blame, but no one was ever arrested. Following the bombing, Vulović spent days in a coma and was hospitalized for several months. She suffered a fractured skull, three broken vertebrae, broken legs, broken ribs, and a fractured pelvis. These injuries resulted in her being temporarily paralyzed from the waist down. Vulović made an almost complete recovery but continued to walk with a limp. She had little to no memory of the incident a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Alan Magee
Alan Eugene Magee (January 13, 1919 – December 20, 2003) was a United States airman during World War II who survived a 22,000-foot (6,700 m) fall from his damaged B-17 Flying Fortress. He was featured in the 1981 ''Smithsonian Magazine'' as one of the 10 most amazing survival stories of World War II. Military career and fall Immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, Magee joined the United States Army Air Forces and was assigned as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 bomber. On January 3, 1943, his Flying Fortress—B-17F-27-BO, ''41-24620'', nicknamed "Snap! Crackle! Pop!"B-17 #41-24620 "snap! crackle pop!" aircraft information from 303rdbg.com, Magee's unit.—part of the 360th Bomb Squadron, [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Juliane Koepcke
Juliane Margaret Beate Koepcke (born 10 October 1954), is a German-Peruvian mammalogist who specialises in bats. She is the daughter of German zoologists Maria and Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke and sole survivor of the 1971 LANSA Flight 508 crash. When the plane was struck by lightning, she fell while strapped to her seat and suffered numerous injuries including a concussion, broken collarbone, and a torn knee ligament. She survived 11 days alone in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest until she located a lumberjack camp. Early life Koepcke was born in Lima, Peru, on 10 October 1954, the only child of German zoologists Maria (née von Mikulicz-Radecki; 1924–1971) and Hans-Wilhelm Koepcke (1914–2000). Her parents were working at Lima's Museum of Natural History when she was born. At the age of 14, she left Lima with her parents to establish the Panguana research station in the Amazon rainforest, where she learned survival skills. Educational authorities disapproved and she was r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Ivan Chisov
Ivan Mikhailovich Chisov (, ; 1916–1986) was a Soviet Air Force lieutenant who survived a fall of approximately 7,000 meters (23,000 feet). Biography Lieutenant Colonel Chisov was a navigator on a Soviet Air Force Ilyushin Il-4 bomber. On 21 January 1942, ''Luftwaffe'' fighters attacked his bomber, forcing him to bail out. Nikolai Zhugan, a crewman on Chisov's flight, later said that Chisov leapt from the plane at an altitude of approximately 7,000 meters (23,000 feet), though other references list Chisov's fall at 6,700 meters. Zhugan himself waited until the plane was at about 5,000 meters before bailing out. With the air battle still raging around him, Chisov intentionally did not open his parachute, as he feared that doing so would make him an easy target for German gunfire while dangling from his parachute harness. He planned to drop below the level of the battle and open his chute once he was out of sight of the fighters. Due to the thin atmosphere at that altitude, howev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
RAF Wittering
Royal Air Force Wittering or more simply RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire and the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. History First World War Wittering's use as a military airfield dates back to 5 May 1916 when it began as RFC Stamford. The aerodrome was initially created for A Flight of No. 38 (Home Defence) Squadron. In common with other Home Defence squadrons at the time it was used for training during the day and for air defence at night. From the flight's operational declaration in December 1916 until it deployed to France in November 1917, its BE2cs, RE7s, and FE2bs were involved in anti-Zeppelin patrols. The station's training role expanded when it became the Royal Flying Corps's No.1 Training Depot Station in 1917. The neighbour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Liskeard
Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. The Bodmin Moor lies to the north-west of the town. The total population of the town at the 2011 census was 11,366 History The Cornish language, Cornish place name element ''Lis'', along with ancient privileges accorded the town, indicates that the settlement was once a high status 'court'. King Doniert's Stone, King Dungarth whose cross is a few miles north near St Cleer is thought to be a descendant of the early 8th century king Geraint of Dumnonia, Gerren of Dumnonia and is said to have held his court in Liskeard (''Lis-Cerruyt''). Liskeard (Liscarret) was at the time of the Domesday Book, Domesday Survey an important manor with a mill rendering 12d. yearly and a market rendering 4s. William the Conqueror gave it to Robert, Count of Mort ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Tom O'Connor (comedian)
Thomas Patrick O'Connor (31 October 1939 – 18 July 2021) was a British comedian, television presenter, and actor. Originally a comedian in working men's clubs, he progressed to hosting TV game shows such as '' Crosswits'', '' The Zodiac Game'', '' Name That Tune'', '' Password'' and '' Gambit''. Early life O'Connor was born in Bootle, and attended St Mary's College, Crosby, and Saint Mary's College, Twickenham. He became a mathematics and music teacher at the St Joan of Arc School, Bootle, and was also assistant headmaster. After work he appeared as a comedian in working men's clubs. Television career His television debut came when he appeared on '' The Comedians'', and had a minor acting role in the Granada TV play, Roll on Four O’Clock, but it was talent show '' Opportunity Knocks'' that shot him to national fame; he won the show three times. During the 1970s and 1980s he was one of the most popular faces on British TV. He was a subject of the television programm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Barry Sheene
Barry Steven Frank Sheene (11 September 1950 – 10 March 2003) was a British professional motorcycle racer and television sports presenter. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing between and , most prominently as a member of the Suzuki MotoGP, Suzuki factory racing team where he won two consecutive Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM List of 500cc/MotoGP World Riders' Champions, World Championships in and . Sheene remains the last British competitor to win the premier class of FIM road racing competitions. Good looking, articulate and charismatic, Sheene was able to harness the power of mass media to transcend the sport and become the best-known face of British motorcycle racing during the 1970s. He was the first motorcycle racer to gain commercial endorsements from outside the sport, including television advertisements for Brut (cologne), Brut cologne. As well as being fluent in several languages, he had a cheeky, cockney persona that endeared him to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
