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RAF Gan
Royal Air Force Gan, commonly known as RAF Gan, is a former Royal Air Force station on Gan island, the southern-most island of Addu Atoll, which is part of the larger groups of islands which form the Maldives, in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Its motto is ''En Route'', which signifies its importance as a strategic staging post for enabling RAF aircraft to reach their onward destinations at their bases in the Far East. Following the departure of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1976, the former RAF Gan airfield was developed into a civilian airport, and is now known as Gan International Airport. History The area was originally established as a military base for the Royal Navy (RN) in . Royal Navy engineers began constructing airstrips on Gan island from crushed coral in August 1941 for the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Around this time, the original inhabitants of Gan were forcibly relocated to the nearby Feydhoo. The airfield was operational between 1942 and 20 March 1945, as a second ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ministry Of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for implementing the defence policy set by the government and serves as the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MOD states that its principal objectives are to defend the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and its interests and to strengthen international peace and stability. The MOD also manages day-to-day running of the armed forces, contingency planning and defence procurement. The expenditure, administration and policy of the MOD are scrutinised by the Defence Select Committee, except for Defence Intelligence which instead falls under the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament. History During the 1920s and 1930s, British civil servants and politicians, looking back at the performance of the state during World War I, concluded that there was a need for greater ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trincomalee
Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast of the island overlooking the Trincomalee Harbour, Trincomalee has been one of the main centres of Sri Lankan Tamil dialects, Sri Lankan Tamil speaking culture on the island for nearly a millennium. With a population of 99,135, the city is built on a peninsula of the same name, which divides its inner and outer harbours. It is home to the famous Koneswaram temple from where it developed and earned its historic Tamil name ''Thirukonamalai''. The town is home to other historical monuments such as the Pathirakali Amman Temple, Bhadrakali Amman Temple, Trincomalee, the Trincomalee Hindu Cultural Hall and, opened in 1897, the R. K. M. Sri Koneswara Hindu College, Trincomalee Hindu College. Trincomalee is also the site of the Trincomalee railway s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bordering the Strait of Malacca to the west, the Singapore Strait to the south along with the Riau Islands in Indonesia, the South China Sea to the east, and the Straits of Johor along with the State of Johor in Malaysia to the north. In its early history, Singapore was a maritime emporium known as '' Temasek''; subsequently, it was part of a major constituent part of several successive thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an entrepôt trading post of the British Empire. In 1867, Singapore came under the direct control of Britain as part of the Straits Settlements. During World ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Far East Air Force (Royal Air Force)
The former Royal Air Force Far East Air Force, more simply known as RAF Far East Air Force, was the Command organisation that controlled all Royal Air Force assets in the east of Asia (Far East). It was originally formed as Air Command, South East Asia in 1943 during the Second World War. In 1946, this was renamed RAF Air Command Far East, and finally Far East Air Force in June 1949. The command was disbanded on 31 October 1971. Early history The RAF's Far East Command was formed in January 1930 and its first officer commanding, Group Captain Henry Cave-Browne-Cave, was double-hatted as Officer Commanding RAF Singapore. This was upgraded to Headquarters Air Force Far East Command in 1933. During the Second World War, when Malaya, Singapore, Burma and Hong Kong were overrun by the Japanese, the command retreated to India, there receiving the name Air Headquarters Bengal. The true ancestor of the postwar Far East Air Force was formed on 16 November 1943, under Lord Louis Mou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bandaranaike International Airport
Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) (commonly known as Colombo International Airport, Colombo–Bandaranaike International Airport, and locally as Katunayake International Airport) (IATA airport code, IATA: CMB, ICAO airport code, ICAO: VCBI) is the main international airport in Sri Lanka. It is named after former Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike (1899–1959) and is in the suburb of Negombo, north of the nation's capital and commercial center, Colombo. It is administered by Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd and serves as the Airline hub, hub of SriLankan Airlines, the Flag carrier, national carrier of Sri Lanka, FitsAir, Fitsair, a privately owned low-cost carrier, and domestic carrier Cinnamon Air. The other airport serving the city of Colombo is Ratmalana Airport, Ratmalana International Airport. History The airport began as a Royal Air Force airfield in 1944 during the Second World War, RAF Negombo with No. 45 Squadron RAF (1946–49), No. 232 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka Air Force
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF; ; ) is the air force, air arm and the youngest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. It was founded in 1951 as the Royal Ceylon Air Force (RCyAF) with the assistance of the Royal Air Force (RAF). The SLAF played a major role throughout the Sri Lankan civil war, Sri Lankan Civil War. The SLAF operates more than 160 aircraft. The Commander of the Air Force (Sri Lanka), Commander of the Air Force is the professional head of the Sri Lanka Air Force who holds the rank Air Marshal. Mission statement The mission statement of the Sri Lanka Air Force is The Goal, Vision of the Sri Lanka Air Force is History Although Ceylonese had served in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Government of Ceylon adopted the No. 102 Squadron RAF, no air units were formed as part of the Ceylon Defence Force. The newly established Dominion of Ceylon, under its first Prime Minister, D. S. Senanayake began establishing its armed forces. The need for an air force was identified ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SWRD Bandaranaike
Solomon West Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (8 January 1899 – 26 September 1959), also known as "The Silver Bell of Asia" (ආසියාවේ රිදී සීනුව), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as the fourth Prime Minister of the Dominion of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), serving from 1956 until his assassination in 1959. The founder of the left-wing and Sinhalese nationalist Sri Lanka Freedom Party, he was elected the fourth Prime Minister of Ceylon after creating a powerful coalition called the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and contesting on the lines of Sinhalese nationalism and democratic socialism. He achieved a landslide victory over the ruling United National Party in the general elections in 1956. His tenure saw some of the first left wing reforms instituted by the Freedom Party in Sri Lanka such as the nationalizing bus services and introducing legislation to prohibit caste based discrimination. Bandaranaike further consolidated Sri Lanka's newly gained indepe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consolidated PBY Catalina
The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (U.S. Navy designation), is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In U.S. Army service, it was designated as the OA-10 and in Canadian service as the Canso, and it later received the NATO reporting name Mop. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other nations. The last military PBYs served until the 1980s. As of 2021, 86 years after its first flight, the aircraft continues to fly as a Aerial firefighting#Water bombers, waterbomber (or airtanker) in aerial firefighting operations in some parts of the world. Design and development Background The PBY was originally designed to be a Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber, an aircraft with a long operational Range (aeronautics), range intended to locate and attack enemy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland is a British flying boat Maritime patrol aircraft, patrol bomber, developed and constructed by Short Brothers for the Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft took its service name from the town (latterly, city) and port of Sunderland in North East England. Developed in parallel with the civilian Short Empire, S.23 ''Empire'' flying boat, the flagship of Imperial Airways, the Sunderland was developed specifically to conform to the requirements of British Air Ministry List of Air Ministry specifications#1930.E2.80.931939, Specification R.2/33 for a long-range patrol/reconnaissance flying boat to serve with the Royal Air Force. Sharing several similarities with the S.23, it had a more advanced aerodynamic hull and was fitted with various offensive and defensive armaments, including machine gun Gun turret#Aircraft, turrets, bombs, Parachute mine, aerial mines, and depth charges. The Sunderland was powered by four Bristol Pegasus, Bristol Pegasus XVIII radial e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceylon
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, while the largest city, Colombo, is the administrative and judicial capital which is the nation's political, financial and cultural centre. Kandy is the second-largest urban area and also the capital of the last native kingdom of Sri Lanka. The most spoken language Sinhala language, Sinhala, is spoken by the majority of the population (approximately 17 million). Tamil language, Tamil is also spoken by approximately five million people, making it the second most-spoken language in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has a population of appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF China Bay
Trincomalee Bay, also known as Koddiyar Bay, is a bay in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. The bay is located by Trincomalee town on the north-east coast of the island. Geography Trincomalee Bay is open towards the northeast and has three differentiated parts. The main bay, also known as Koddiyar Bay, is located in the south and southeastern side and fairly regularly shaped, as well as enclosed and deep, forming a large natural harbour in the shores of the Indian Ocean. The commercial harbour is located in the long and wide northern indentation, also known as China Bay, on whose western side lies China Bay Airport. Tambalagam Bay is a mostly shallow western indentation of the main bay stretching westwards for . The bay is overlooked by terraced hills in the northwest and its entrance is guarded by two headlands. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hithadhoo (Seenu Atoll)
Hithadhoo ( Dhivehi: ހިތަދޫ) is a district of Addu City, in the Maldives. Hithadhoo is the main administrative district of Addu City, with many of the administrative buildings in this district. The town is situated on the island of the same name, the westernmost of Addu Atoll (previously known as Seenu Atoll). In terms of population, Hithadhoo is home to the largest population in Addu City. According to the 2014 Census, with 11,129 residents, Hithadhoo also has the largest population of any administrative island in Maldives, a category that excludes the much larger national capital, Malé. Geography The island is south of the country's capital, Malé. Hithadhoo is the second largest island in the Maldives, with a surface area of . It has a length of and a width of at its widest point. The part of the island south of the town is lushly vegetated with palms and shrubs, whilst the northern end of the island consists of a partially stony, unreal scrubland, which can be expl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
