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No. 247 Squadron RAF
No. 247 Squadron was formerly a squadron of the Royal Air Force. It was also known as No. 247 (China British) Squadron in recognition of the donations made by the British communities of the foreign concessions established on the Chinese coast. The financial gift to provide two fighter squadrons also included the badge in the form of a scroll with Chinese characters ''Cheu Feng'' meaning "fierce wind" or Hurricane, and the motto "Rise from the East". The squadron was heavily involved in air operations during the Second World War, and the defence of the United Kingdom during the early years of the Cold War. History Formation and early history (1918–1919) No. 247 Squadron was first formed in the First World War on 20 August 1918 by the amalgamation of No. 336 and 337 Flights of the Royal Naval Air Service. The squadron was equipped with Felixstowe F2A flying boats and its role was reconnaissance and anti-submarine work in the North Sea. With the cessation of hostilities, the sq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kanaal, "The Channel"; german: Ärmelkanal, "Sleeve Channel" (French: ''la Manche;'' also called the British Channel or simply the Channel) is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busiest shipping area in the world. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to at its narrowest in the Strait of Dover."English Channel". ''The Columbia Encyclopedia'', 2004. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some . The Channel was a key factor in Britain becoming a naval superpower and has been utilised by Britain as a natural ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and it never completely satisfied this requirement.Thomas and Shores 1988, p. 16. The Typhoon was originally designed to mount twelve .303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns and be powered by the latest engines. Its service introduction in mid-1941 was plagued with problems and for several months the aircraft faced a doubtful future. When the ''Luftwaffe'' brought the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 into service in 1941, the Typhoon was the only RAF fighter capable of catching it at low altitudes; as a result it secured a new role as a low-altitude interceptor. The Typhoon became established in roles such as night-time intruder and long-range fighter. From late 1942 the Typhoon was equipped with bombs and from late 1943 RP-3 rockets were added to i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Michael's Church, High Ercall
St Michael's Church is in the village of High Ercall, Shropshire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Wrockwardine, the archdeaconry of Salop, and the diocese of Lichfield. Its benefice is united with those of twelve local churches. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building. History The nave and aisles date from the late 12th century, and the chancel from the early 14th century. The north chapel was endowed in 1334. The church was badly damaged in 1645–46 during the Civil War, and was repaired and reconstructed between 1657 and 1662. In 1864 G. E. Street carried out a restoration, and added the south porch and vestry. In 1998 a new bell-ringing floor was inserted in the tower, which allowed the creation of a kitchen and toilets below it. Architecture Exterior St Michael's is constructed in sandstone ashlar, and has a tiled roof. The colour of the sandsto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the southeast, and Herefordshire to the south. A unitary authority of the same name was created in 2009, taking over from the previous county council and five district councils, now governed by Shropshire Council. The borough of Telford and Wrekin has been a separate unitary authority since 1998, but remains part of the ceremonial county. The county's population and economy is centred on five towns: the county town of Shrewsbury, which is culturally and historically important and close to the centre of the county; Telford, which was founded as a new town in the east which was constructed around a number of older towns, most notably Wellington, Dawley and Madeley, which is t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF High Ercall
Royal Air Force High Ercall or more simply RAF High Ercall is a former Royal Air Force sector station situated near the village of High Ercall, northeast of Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. History Construction of the airfield began in 1938 and was mostly complete by 1940. The airbase was initially run by RAF Maintenance Command and civilians from the Ministry of Aircraft Production also worked at the airfield. From 1941 onward the airbase was taken over by RAF Fighter Command, and was used mainly by night fighter units, such as No. 68 Squadron and No. 255 Squadron. From 1942 the airfield was also used by the United States Army 8th Air Force's 309 Fighter Squadron, which flew British Supermarine Spitfires with USAAF markings. In 1943 the role of the airbase changed to become focused on training; it was used mainly by No. 60 Operational Training Unit for this purpose. From 1951 the station became a Relief Landing Ground for flying and navigation training. If pilots were un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber. The Beaufighter proved to be an effective night fighter, which came into service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Battle of Britain, its large size allowing it to carry heavy armament and early airborne interception radar without major performance penalties. The Beaufighter was used in many roles; receiving the nicknames ''Rockbeau'' for its use as a rocket-armed ground attack aircraft and ''Torbeau'' as a torpedo bomber against Axis shipping, in which it replaced the Beaufort. In later operations, it served mainly as a maritime strike/ground attack aircraft, RAF Coastal Command having operated the largest number of Beaufighters amongst all other commands at one point. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Douglas Havoc
The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement for a bomber, it was ordered by France for their air force before the USAAC decided it would also meet their requirements. French DB-7s were the first to see combat; after the fall of France, the bomber served with the Royal Air Force under the service name Boston. From 1941, night fighter and intruder versions were given the service name Havoc. In 1942 USAAF A-20s saw combat in North Africa. It served with several Allied air forces, principally the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), the Soviet Air Forces (''VVS''), Soviet Naval Aviation (''AVMF''), and the Royal Air Force (RAF) of the United Kingdom. A total of 7,478 aircraft were built, of which more than a third served with Soviet units. It was also used by the air forces of Australia, South Africa, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turbinlite
The Helmore/ GEC Turbinlite was a 2,700 million candela (2.7 Gcd) searchlight fitted in the nose of a number of British Douglas Havoc night fighters during the early part of the Second World War and around the time of The Blitz. The Havoc was guided to enemy aircraft by ground radar and its own radar. The searchlight would then be used to illuminate attacking enemy bombers for defending fighters accompanying the Havoc to shoot down. In practice the Turbinlite was not a success and the introduction of higher performance night fighters with their own radar meant they were withdrawn from service in early 1943. Background The then state-of-the-art metre-wavelength Airborne Interception radar, known in British parlance of the time as RDF (Radio Direction Finding) equipment, was bulky and, due to the operator workload, generally unsuited to carriage by single-engined fighters, and so required a twin-engine design. However, the early radar-equipped Bristol Blenheims lacked ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast for fighters of its era to intercept. It suffered from technical problems during its development and early operational periods but became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the war. Like a number of other ''Luftwaffe'' bombers, it served as a bomber, dive bomber, night fighter, torpedo bomber, reconnaissance aircraft, heavy fighter and at the end of the war, as a flying bomb. Despite a protracted development, it became one of the ''Luftwaffe''s most important aircraft. The assembly line ran constantly from 1936 to 1945 and more than 15,000 Ju 88s were built in dozens of variants, more than any other twin-engine German aircraft of the period. Throughout production the basic structure of the aircraft remained unchanged.Angelucci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Predannack Airfield
Predannack Airfield is an aerodrome near Mullion on The Lizard peninsula of Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The runways are operated by the Royal Navy and today it is a satellite airfield and relief landing ground for nearby RNAS Culdrose. RAF Predannack Second World War Development The capitulation of France in June 1940 gave impetus to the building of numerous airfields across South West England which was now vulnerable to attack by the ''Luftwaffe''. RAF Predannack was opened in May 1941 as a satellite for RAF Portreath. Accommodation was dispersed over a wide area, with officers accommodated in the Mullion Cove and Polurrian Hotels. The number of personnel reached peak strength of 3,600 by 1944. Operations The first squadron to arrive was 247 Squadron with Hawker Hurricanes, specialising in night defence of the South West's towns and ports. The night fighting element was later augmented by 1457 Flight flying Douglas Havoc aircraft with its unsuccessful Turbinlite sea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Portreath
Remote Radar Head Portreath or RRH Portreath is an air defence radar station operated by the Royal Air Force. It has a coastal location at Nancekuke Common, approximately north east of the village of Portreath in Cornwall, England. Its radar (housed in a fibre glass or ''golf ball'' protective dome) provides long-range coverage of the south western approaches to the United Kingdom. Second World War Previously known as RAF Portreath, the station was built during 1940, opened in March 1941 and had a varied career during the Second World War, initially as a RAF Fighter Command station, from October 1941 as a ferry stop-over for aircraft bound to/from North Africa and the Middle East, as a temporary stop-over for United States Army Air Forces and Royal Canadian Air Force units, and then as a RAF Coastal Command station. By the end of the war, it had run down and in May 1950 was handed back to the government by the RAF. The following squadrons were here at some point: Units: C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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