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Counter-air Patrol
Counter-air patrol, known as Flower missions in RAF parlance, is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft against other fighters, common in World War II and sometimes combined with ''fighter sweeps'' (Rhubarb missions) against targets of opportunity. Counter-air patrol is an attempt to achieve air superiority by maintaining patrols above and around enemy airfields. Aircraft are vulnerable on take off, fully loaded and working to gain altitude and speed. The aim of the counter-air patrol was to pick off enemy fighters as they took off and during their climb to an operational height. Fighter sweeps were used both to attrit the enemy and to provide cover for bombing raids by forcing enemy fighters to protect their own airfields. References {{reflist See also *Combat air patrol Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glossary Of RAF Code Names
Code words used by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War: *Angels – height in thousands of feet. * Balbo – a large formation of aircraft.Rawlings, John D.R., ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft'', London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd. *Bandit – identified enemy aircraft. *Bogey – unidentified (possibly unfriendly) aircraft. *Buster – radio-telephony code phrase for 'maximum throttle' or full power climb. *Cab rank – an airborne patrol of fighter-bombers near a combat zone which could be called upon to attack specific targets as necessary. *Channel Stop – air operations intended to stop enemy shipping passing through the Straits of Dover. *Circus – daytime bomber attacks with fighter escorts against short range targets, to occupy enemy fighters and keep them in the area concerned. *Diver – radio-telephony code word for a sighted V-1 flying bomb. *Fighter night – introduced in November 1940, night patrols above a specified height wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical bombing, tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets, and helps prevent the enemy from doing the same. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground-attack aircraft, ground attack and some types, such as fighter-b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Target Of Opportunity
A target of opportunity is a Targeting (warfare), target "visible to a surface or air sensor or observer, which is within range of available weapons and against which fire has not been scheduled or requested." A target of opportunity comes in two forms; "unplanned" and "unanticipated". Unplanned targets of opportunity are those that fall within mission parameters as appropriate targets but were not included within a mission brief. Unanticipated targets are those that fall outside of mission parameters because their availability was not expected, such as an otherwise high-value target being identified at a location where another unrelated mission is underway. __TOC__ Procedure In preparation for most ordinary combat military operations, armed forces are given a series of Goal, objectives that may include one or more primary targets. During combat operations, additional targets may be present. Provided any action to deal with those targets would not compromise outlined operational o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Air Superiority
An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere is the outer region of a star, which includes the layers above the opaque photosphere; stars of low temperature might have outer atmospheres containing compound molecules. The atmosphere of Earth is composed of nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (0.9%), carbon dioxide (0.04%) and trace gases. Most organisms use oxygen for respiration; lightning and bacteria perform nitrogen fixation which produces ammonia that is used to make nucleotides and amino acids; plants, algae, and cyanobacteria use carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. The layered composition of the atmosphere minimises the harmful effects of sunlight, ultraviolet radiation, solar wind, and cosmic rays and thus protects the organisms from genetic damage. The current composition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum (IWM), currently branded "Imperial War Museums", is a British national museum. It is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of the United Kingdom and its Empire during the First World War. The museum's remit has since expanded to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914. As of 2012, the museum aims "to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and 'wartime experience'." Originally housed in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham Hill, the museum opened to the public in 1920. In 1924, it moved to space in the Imperial Institute in South Kensington and in 1936 it acquired a permanent home at the former Bethlem Royal Hospital in Southwark, which serves as its headquarters. The outbreak of the Second World War saw the museum expand bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attrition Warfare
Attrition warfare is a form of military strategy in which one side attempts to gradually wear down its opponent to the point of collapse by inflicting continuous losses in personnel, materiel, and morale. The term ''attrition'' is derived from the Latin word , meaning "to wear down" or "to rub against", reflecting the grinding nature of the strategy. Strategic considerations Attrition warfare seeks to erode an opponent’s capacity to wage war by systematically destroying their military resources, morale, and logistics over time. This may involve guerrilla warfare, people's war, scorched earth tactics, or prolonged engagements short of a decisive battle. It contrasts with strategies such as blitzkrieg or force concentration, which aim to achieve rapid victory through overwhelming power in a single decisive engagement. As Clausewitz described, it is a strategy of exhausting the adversary’s will and capability to fight. A combatant facing a significant disadvantage may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Combat Air Patrol
Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, for the purpose of intercepting and destroying hostile aircraft before they reach their target. Combat air patrols apply to both overland and overwater operations, protecting other aircraft, fixed and mobile sites on land, or ships at sea. Known by the acronym CAP, it typically entails fighters flying a tactical pattern around or screening a defended target, while looking for incoming attackers. Effective CAP patterns may include aircraft positioned at both high and low altitudes, in order to shorten response times when an attack is detected. Modern CAPs are either Ground-controlled interception, GCI or Airborne Early Warning and Control, AWACS-controlled to provide maximum early warning for defensive reaction. The first CAPs were charac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Intruder (air Combat)
An intruder is a military aircraft and its crew that is tasked with penetrating deep into enemy air space, to disrupt operations. Intruders are usually fighters, attackers or light bombers. The intruder concept dates from World War II, the first radar-equipped night and all-weather fighters were able to take advantage of the cover provided by night-time and meteorological conditions. Intruder crews attack enemy fighters, airfields, radar and other infrastructure; stage diversionary attacks; and escort bombers. Intruders often loiter in the vicinity of enemy airbases to attack aircraft as they take off or land. The technique was first used in World War II. Starting in July 1940, small numbers of German fast bombers would merge into streams of Royal Air Force bombers returning from night missions over Europe. Once past the Chain Home radars, where they appeared to be returning bombers, they were free to attack RAF air bases. This often took the form of dropping light bom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Offensive Counter Air
Offensive counter-air (OCA) is a military term for the suppression of an enemy's military air power, primarily through ground attacks targeting enemy air bases: disabling or destroying parked aircraft, runways, fuel facilities, hangars, air traffic control facilities and other aviation infrastructure. Ground munitions like bombs are typically less expensive than more sophisticated air-to-air munitions, and a single ground munition can destroy or disable multiple aircraft in a very short time whereas aircraft already flying must typically be shot down one at a time. Enemy aircraft already flying also represent an imminent threat as they can usually fire back, and therefore destroying them before they can take off minimizes the risk to friendly aircraft. Air-to-air operations conducted by fighter aircraft with the objective of clearing an airspace of enemy fighters known as combat air patrols can also be offensive counter-air missions, but they are seen as a comparatively slow and e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
