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Andrew Mynarski
Andrew Charles Mynarski (14 October 1916 – 13 June 1944) was a Canadian airman and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Mynarski was 27 years old and flew with No. 419 "Moose" Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force, during the Second World War when he died attempting to help rescue a trapped crewman. His Victoria Cross, which was awarded in 1946, was the last Victoria Cross received by any Canadian serviceman in the Second World War. Early years Mynarski was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on 14 October 1916, the son of Polish immigrants. Known as Andy to his close friends, he had five other siblings, two brothers and three sisters. Mynarski was educated at King Edward and Isaac Newton Elementary Schools, later graduating from St. John's Technical School. To help support his family after his father's death, at the age of 16, he worked as a chamois cutter.Page 1989, p. 43. Warti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously awarded to service personnel in the broader British Empire (later Commonwealth of Nations), with most successor independent nations now having established their own honours systems and no longer recommending British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any military rank in any service and to civilians under military command. No civilian has received the award since 1879. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857, two thirds of all awards have been personally presented by the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch. The investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its origins in the twin-engine ''H.P.56'' proposal of the late 1930s, produced in response to the British Air Ministry's Specification P.13/36 for a capable medium bomber for "world-wide use." The H.P.56 was ordered as a backup to the Avro 679, both aircraft being designed to use the Rolls-Royce Vulture engine. The Handley Page design was altered to use four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines while the rival Avro 679 was produced as the twin-engine Avro Manchester which, while regarded as unsuccessful mainly due to the Vulture engine, was a direct predecessor of the Avro Lancaster. Both the Lancaster and the Halifax emerged as capable four-engine strategic bombers, thousands of which were used during the War. The Halifax performed its first flight on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Mynarsky Bust
Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "courageous", and "warrior". In the King James Bible, the Greek "Ἀνδρέας" is translated as Andrew. Popularity In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. Australia In 2000, the name Andrew was the second most popular name in Australia after James. In 1999, it was the 19th most common name, while in 1940, it was the 31st most common name. Andrew was the first most popular name given to boys in the Northern Territory in 2003 to 2015 and continuing. In Victoria, Andrew was the first most popular name for a boy in the 1970s. Canada Andrew was the 20th most popular name chosen for male infants in 2005. Andrew was the 16th most popular name for infants in British Columbia i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Pilot officer is the lowest ranking commissioned officer immediately below flying officer. It is usually equivalent to the rank of second lieutenant in other services. The equivalent rank in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) was "company assistant", later renamed to "assistant section officer". Canada The rank was used in the Royal Canadian Air Force until the 1968 unification of the Canadian Forces, when army-type rank titles were adopted. Canadian pilot officers then became second lieutenants. In official Canadian French usage, the rank title was . United Kingdom Origins In the Royal Flying Corps, officers were designated pilot officers at the end of pilot training. As they retained their commissions in their customary ranks (usually second lieutenant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region of Hauts-de-France and had a population of 135,429, as of 2021. A central landmark of the city is Amiens Cathedral, the largest Gothic cathedral in France. Amiens also has one of the largest university hospitals in France, with a capacity of 1,200 beds. The author Jules Verne lived in Amiens from 1871 until his death in 1905, and served on the city council for 15 years. Amiens is the birthplace of French president Emmanuel Macron. The town was fought over during both World Wars, suffering significant damage, and was repeatedly occupied by both sides. The 1918 Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens was the opening phase of the Hundred Days Offensive which directly led to the Armistice with Germany. The Royal Air Force heavily bombed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations military service members who died in the two World Wars. The commission is also responsible for commemorating Commonwealth civilians who died as a result of enemy action during the Second World War. The commission was founded by Fabian Ware, Sir Fabian Ware and constituted through royal charter in 1917 as the Imperial War Graves Commission. The change to the present name took place in 1960. The commission, as part of its mandate, is responsible for commemorating all Commonwealth war dead individually and equally. To this end, the war dead are commemorated by a name on a headstone, at an identified site of a burial, or on a memorial. War dead are commemorated uniformly and equally, irrespective of military or civil rank, race or creed. The co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous states border Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, with the semi-exclave of Alaska in the northwest and the archipelago of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean. The United States asserts sovereignty over five Territories of the United States, major island territories and United States Minor Outlying Islands, various uninhabited islands in Oceania and the Caribbean. It is a megadiverse country, with the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, third-largest land area and List of countries and dependencies by population, third-largest population, exceeding 340 million. Its three Metropolitan statistical areas by population, largest metropolitan areas are New York metropolitan area, New York, Greater Los Angeles, Los Angel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bomb Aimer
A bombardier or bomb aimer is the crew member of a bomber aircraft responsible for the targeting of aerial bombs. "Bomb aimer" was the preferred term in the military forces of the Commonwealth, while "bombardier" (from the French word for "bomb thrower" and similar in meaning to "grenadier") was the equivalent position in the United States Armed Forces. In many planes, the bombardier took control of the airplane during the bombing run, using a device such as the Norden bombsight which was connected to the autopilot of the plane. Often stationed in the extreme front of the aircraft, on the way to the target and after releasing the bombs, he could also serve as the front gunner in aircraft that had a front turret. In the latter part of the 20th century, the title of bombardier fell into disuse, due largely to changes in technology, emanating from the replacement of this manual function with the development of computerized technology and smart bombs, that has given rise to ter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parachute
A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves various purposes like slowing cargo, aiding in space capsule recovery, and stabilizing vehicles or objects. Modern parachutes are typically made from durable fabrics like nylon and come in various shapes, such as dome-shaped, rectangular, and inverted domes, depending on their specific function. The concept of the parachute dates back to ancient attempts at flight. In 852 AD, Armen Firman, in Córdoba, Spain, made the first recorded jump with a large cloak to slow his fall. Renaissance figures like Francesco di Giorgio Martini and Leonardo da Vinci later sketched designs resembling modern parachutes, but it wasn’t until the 18th century that the first successful jumps occurred. French Louis-Sébastien Lenormand made the first public jump i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a twin-engined multirole combat aircraft designed and produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works. It was used extensively during the Second World War by the ''Luftwaffe'' and became one of the most versatile combat aircraft of the conflict. The Ju 88 originated from a ''Reichsluftfahrtministerium'' (RLM) requirement issued in 1934 for a new multipurpose aircraft. Junkers was one of several firms to respond, producing two separate design studies that produced both the Ju 85 and Ju 88. The design work was headed by Junkers' chief designer Ernst Zindel. The Ju 88 was envisioned to function as a so-called '' Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would evade interception by enemy fighters of its era by flying at high speed. On 21 December 1936, the first prototype performed its maiden flight. The performance of the third prototype was highly favourable, resulting in the competing Henschel Hs 127 and Messerschmitt Bf 162 bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day (after the military term), it is the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France, and the rest of Western Europe, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front. Planning for the operation began in 1943. In the months leading up to the invasion, the Allies conducted a substantial military deception, codenamed Operation Bodyguard, to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings. The weather on the day selected for D-Day was not ideal, and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks, as the planners had requirements for the phase of the moon, the tides, and time of day, that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
