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Peter Malam Brothers
Air Commodore Peter Malam "Pete" Brothers, (30 September 1917 – 18 December 2008) was a Royal Air Force fighter pilot and flying ace of World War II. Brothers was credited with 16 aerial victories, 10 of which he achieved during the Battle of Britain. Early life Born in Prestwich, Lancashire, the son of John Malam Brothers, Brothers was educated at North Manchester School. His early interest in flying was shown by learning to fly aged 16. He joined the Royal Air Force in January 1936, and was granted a short service commission as an acting Pilot Officer on probation on 23 March, Joining No 32 Squadron in October 1936, his commission was confirmed on 27 January 1937, and he was promoted to flying officer on 27 October 1938. Second World War Brothers first saw action during the Battle of Britain as a flight commander in No 32. Squadron RAF which was then based at RAF Biggin Hill flying Hurricane aircraft. The Battle of Britain was a very busy time for Brothers, and during ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. With a population of approximately 1.2 million people, Surrey is the 12th-most populous county in England. The most populated town in Surrey is Woking, followed by Guildford. The county is divided into eleven districts with borough status. Between 1893 and 2020, Surrey County Council was headquartered at County Hall, Kingston-upon-Thames (now part of Greater London) but is now based at Woodhatch Place, Reigate. In the 20th century several alterations were made to Surrey's borders, with territory ceded to Greater London upon its creation and some gained from the abolition of Middlesex. Surrey is bordered by Greater London to the north east, Kent to the east, Berkshire to the north west, West Sussex to the south, East Sussex to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain in 1940, but the Hurricane inflicted 60 percent of the losses sustained by the Luftwaffe in the campaign, and fought in all the major theatres of the Second World War. The Hurricane originated from discussions between RAF officials and aircraft designer Sir Sydney Camm about a proposed monoplane derivative of the Hawker Fury biplane in the early 1930s. Despite an institutional preference for biplanes and lack of interest by the Air Ministry, Hawker refined their monoplane proposal, incorporating several innovations which became critical to wartime fighter aircraft, including retractable landing gear and the more powerful Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. The Air Ministry ordered Hawker's ''Int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Staff College, Andover
The RAF Staff College at RAF Andover was the first Royal Air Force staff college to be established. Its role was the training of officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. History Foundation Following the foundation of the RAF in April 1918 and the end of the First World War in November 1918, there was a determination to maintain the Air Force as an independent service rather than let the Army and Royal Navy control air operations again. Therefore, the creation of an RAF Staff College to parallel the Army Staff College and the Royal Naval Staff College was an important element in fully establishing the RAF. On 14 November 1921, Air Commodore Robert Brooke-Popham was tasked with setting up the RAF Staff College. On 1 April the following year, the new RAF Staff College came into being with Brooke-Popham as its first commandant. The Staff College was based at RAF Andover and was subordinate to Inland Area. The dog seen in the photograph on R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avro Lincoln
The Avro Type 694 Lincoln is a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were initially known as the Lancaster IV and V; these were renamed Lincoln I and II. It was the last piston-engined bomber operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The Lincoln attained operational status in August 1945. It had been initially assigned to units of the Tiger Force, a Commonwealth heavy bomber force which had been intended to play a role in the Japan campaign in the closing stages of the Second World War, but the war ended before the Lincoln could participate. Production of the type proceeded and the type was adopted in quantity, complementing and progressively replacing the Lancaster in RAF service during the late 1940s. The Lincoln was deployed on operations during the 1950s. RAF squadrons equipped with the type fought against guerrilla fighters during the Mau Mau Uprising in Kenya; the RAF and the Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colonial Service
The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the authority of the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Colonial Office in London. It did not operate in British India, where the same function was delivered by the Indian Civil Service, nor in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, which was administered by the Sudan Political Service, nor in the internally self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia. History The British Government's overall responsibility for the management of the territories overseas in the early 19th century lay with successive departments dealing with the various colonies and "plantations", until in 1854 a separate Colonial Office was created headed by a Secretary of State for the Colonies. That office was not responsible for the territories of the Indian Empire, including Burma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Tangmere
RAF Tangmere was a Royal Air Force station located in Tangmere, England, famous for its role in the Battle of Britain, and one of several stations near Chichester, West Sussex. The famous Second World War aces Wing Commander Douglas Bader, and the then inexperienced Johnnie Johnson were stationed at Tangmere in 1941. History First World War The aerodrome was founded in 1917 for use by the Royal Flying Corps as a training base. In 1918 it was turned over to the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps (USSC) as a training ground, and continued as such until the end of the Great War in November of that year, after which the airfield was mothballed. Inter-War Years In 1925 the station re-opened to serve the RAF's Fleet Air Arm, and went operational in 1926 with No. 43 Squadron equipped with biplane Gloster Gamecocks (there is a row of houses located near the museum entrance called Gamecock Terrace). As war threatened in the late 1930s, the fighter aircraft based at Tangmere beca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wing Leader
Wing leader, or wing commander (flying), denotes the tactical commander of a Commonwealth military wing on flying operations. The terms refer to a position, not a rank, although the role was usually taken by an officer ranked wing commander. The position was also distinct from the commanding officer of the wing, generally a higher-ranked officer. The first wing leaders were appointed in 1941, and the position remained in use until the 1960s. History The role of wing leader originated in the Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II, when senior fighter pilots, usually of wing commander rank, were given responsibility for coordinating the operations of several squadrons—originally three, later as many as five—in combat. Previously, such formations were led by the most senior or experienced commander of the squadrons involved.Bowyer, ''Fighter Pilots of the RAF'', p. 151Franks, ''Fighter Command's Air War'', "Chapter 1: What will the New Year bring?" The "Big Wing" had been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griffon engined Mk 24 using several wing configurations and guns. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the war. The Spitfire remains popular among enthusiasts; around 70 remain airworthy, and many more are static exhibits in aviation museums throughout the world. The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft by R. J. Mitchell, chief designer at Supermarine Aviation Works, which operated as a subsidiary of Vickers-Armstrong from 1928. Mitchell developed the Spitfire's distinctive elliptical wing with innovative sunken rivets (designed by Beverley Shenstone) to have the thinnest possible cross-section, achieving a potential top speed greater than that of several contemporary figh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squadron Leader
Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. An air force squadron leader ranks above flight lieutenant and immediately below wing commander and it is the most junior of the senior officer ranks. The air force rank of squadron leader has a NATO ranking code of OF-3, equivalent to a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy or a major in the British Army or the Royal Marines. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Women's Royal Air Force (until 1968) and Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (until 1980) was "squadron officer". Squadron leader has also been used as a cavalry command appointment (UK) and rank (France) since ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was founded by Arthur B. Sleigh in 1855 as ''The Daily Telegraph & Courier''. Considered a newspaper of record over ''The Times'' in the UK in the years up to 1997, ''The Telegraph'' generally has a reputation for high-quality journalism, and has been described as being "one of the world's great titles". The paper's motto, "Was, is, and will be", appears in the editorial pages and has featured in every edition of the newspaper since 19 April 1858. The paper had a circulation of 363,183 in December 2018, descending further until it withdrew from newspaper circulation audits in 2019, having declined almost 80%, from 1.4 million in 1980.United Newspapers PLC and Fleet Holdings PLC', Monopolies and Mergers Commission (1985), pp. 5–16. Its si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Stanford Tuck
Wing Commander Robert Roland Stanford Tuck, (1 July 1916 – 5 May 1987) was a British fighter pilot, flying ace and test pilot. Tuck joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1935 and first engaged in combat during the Battle of France, over Dunkirk, claiming his first victories. In September 1940 he was promoted to squadron leader and commanded a Hawker Hurricane squadron. In 1941–1942, Tuck participated in fighter sweeps over northern France. On 28 January 1942, he was hit by anti-aircraft fire, was forced to land in France, and was taken prisoner. At the time of his capture, Tuck had claimed 29 enemy aircraft destroyed, two shared destroyed, six probably destroyed, six damaged and one shared damaged. Early years Tuck was born in Catford, southeast London. After a less-than-stellar school career he left St Dunstan's College, Catford in 1932 to join the Merchant Navy as a sea cadet (seaman's Discharge Number R112769) aboard the SS ''Marconi'' from 19 May 1933 before joining the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
