|
David Eagles
Lieutenant commander (Royal Navy), Lieutenant Commander John David Eagles (born 1935) is a British former test pilot and former Fleet Air Arm pilot. Early life Dave Eagles was born in Brighouse in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1935, now in Kirklees. He attended The Mirfield Free Grammar, Mirfield Grammar School. Career On starting National Service in 1953 he joined the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). For six months he trained on HMS Indefatigable (R10), HMS Indefatigable. He spent fifteen months learning to fly with the United States Navy, where he flew the North American T-6 Texan, Harvard (US Navy SNJ), the Grumman F9F Panther and the North American T-28 Trojan at Naval Air Stations Pensacola FLA (Naval Air Station Pensacola) and Kingsville Texas (Naval Air Station Kingsville). He returned to the United Kingdom, UK to fly the FAA's Hawker Sea Hawk, one of Britain's first naval jet fighters. Seconded to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleet Air Arm (RAN), Fleet Air Arm for two years ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brighouse
Brighouse (, locally also ) is a town within the metropolitan borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically within the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated on the River Calder, West Yorkshire, River Calder, east of Halifax, West Yorkshire, Halifax. It is served by Junction 25 of the M62 motorway and Brighouse railway station on the Caldervale Line and Huddersfield Line. In the town centre is a mooring basin on the Calder and Hebble Navigation. The United Kingdom Census 2001 gave the Brighouse / Rastrick subdivision of the West Yorkshire Urban Area a population of 32,360. The Brighouse ward of Calderdale Council gave a population of 11,195 at the 2011 Census. Brighouse has an HD6 postcode, despite being associated with Halifax for local government. The name Brighouse (or "Bridge House") originates from a building on (or close to) the bridge over the River Calder. In its early history, it was a hamlet (place), hamlet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawker Sea Hawk
The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design originated from earlier Hawker piston-engined fighters, the Sea Hawk was the company's first jet aircraft. Following acceptance in the RN, the Sea Hawk proved to be a reliable and sturdy workhorse. A considerable number were also produced for the export market and were operated from aircraft carriers in Dutch and Indian service. The last operational Sea Hawks, operated by the Indian Navy, were retired in 1983. Design and development Origins Towards the end of the Second World War, Hawker's design team had become increasingly interested in developing a fighter aircraft that took advantage of the newly developed jet propulsion technology. Prior to this, Hawker had been committed until late 1944 to the production and further development of its pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Aircraft Corporation
The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric, English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs, Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane Company and Hunting Aircraft in 1960. Bristol, English Electric and Vickers became "parents" of BAC with shareholdings of 20%, 40% and 40% respectively. BAC in turn acquired the share capital of their aviation interests and 70% of Hunting Aircraft several months later. History Formation BAC's origins can be traced to a statement issued by the British government that it expected the various companies involved in the aircraft, guided weapons and engine industries to consolidate and merge with one another. Furthermore, the government also promised incentives to motivate such restructuring; the maintenance of government research and development spending and the guarantee of aid in launching "promising new types of civil aircraft". One partic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Museum Cosford - DSC08343
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has played a significant role in British military history. In particular, during the Second World War, the RAF established air superiority over Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, and led the Allied strategic bombing effort. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMS Victorious (R38)
HMS ''Victorious'' was the third after ''Illustrious'' and ''Formidable''. Ordered under the 1936 Naval Programme, she was laid down at the Vickers-Armstrong shipyard at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1937 and launched two years later in 1939. Her commissioning was delayed until 1941 due to the greater need for escort vessels for service in the Battle of the Atlantic. Her service in 1941 and 1942 included famous actions against the battleship German battleship Bismarck, ''Bismarck'', several Arctic convoys, and Operation Pedestal. She was loaned to the United States Navy in 1943 and served in the south west Pacific as part of the Third Fleet. In 1944 ''Victorious'' contributed to several attacks on the German battleship Tirpitz, ''Tirpitz''. The elimination of the German naval threat allowed her redeployment first to the Eastern Fleet at Colombo and then to the British Pacific Fleet, Pacific for the final actions of the war against Japan. After the war, her service was broken by per ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CATOBAR
CATOBAR (catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery or catapult-assisted take-off barrier arrested recovery) is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. Under this technique, aircraft launch using a catapult- assisted take-off and land on the ship (the recovery phase) using arrestor wires. Although this system is costlier than alternative methods, it provides greater flexibility in carrier operations, since it imposes less onerous design elements on fixed wing aircraft than alternative methods of launch and recovery such as STOVL or STOBAR, allowing for a greater payload for more ordnance and/or fuel. CATOBAR can launch aircraft that lack a high thrust to weight ratio, including heavier non-fighter aircraft such as the E-2 Hawkeye and Grumman C-2 Greyhound. Types The catapult system in use in most modern CATOBAR carriers is the steam catapult. Its primary advantage is the amount of power and control it can provide. Duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackburn Buccaneer
The Blackburn Buccaneer is a British aircraft carrier, carrier-capable attack aircraft designed in the 1950s for the Royal Navy (RN). Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough Aerodrome, Brough, it was later officially known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley, Hawker Siddeley Group, but this name is rarely used. The Buccaneer was originally designed in response to the Soviet Union introducing the Sverdlov-class cruiser, ''Sverdlov'' class of light cruisers. Instead of building a new class of its own cruisers, the Royal Navy decided that it could address the threat posed via low-level attack runs performed by Buccaneers, low enough to exploit the ship's radar horizon to minimise the opportunity for being fired upon. The Buccaneer could attack using nuclear weapons or conventional munitions. During its service life, it would be modified to carry anti-ship missiles, allowing it to attack vessels from a stand- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MoD Boscombe Down
MOD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD). The base was originally conceived, constructed, and operated as Royal Air Force Boscombe Down, more commonly known as RAF Boscombe Down, and since 1939, has evaluated aircraft for use by the British Armed Forces. The airfield has one active runway in length. The airfield's evaluation centre is currently home to Rotary Wing Test and Evaluation Squadron (RWTS), Fast Jet Test Squadron (FJTS), Heavy Aircraft Test Squadron (HATS), Handling Squadron, and the Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS). It will be home to an anti-jamming test facility by 2026. History First World War An aerodrome opened at the Boscombe Down site in October 1917 and operated as a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Empire Test Pilots' School
The Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type. The school moved to RAF Cranfield in October 1945, then to the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough in July 1947, before returning to Boscombe Down on 29 January 1968. Its motto is "Learn to test; test to learn". ETPS is run by the MoD and defence contractor QinetiQ under a long-term agreement. History In 1943, Air Marshal Sir Ralph Sorley, Controller, Research and Development, Ministry of Aircraft Production, formed the "Test Pilots' Training Flight" at RAF Boscombe Down after many pilots died testing the many new aircraft introduced during the Second World War. On 21 June 1943, the unit became the ''Test Pilots' School'' within the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down. The school wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Havilland Sea Vixen
The de Havilland DH.110 Sea Vixen is a British twin-engine, twin boom-tailed, two-seat, carrier-based fleet air-defence fighter flown by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm from the 1950s to the early 1970s. The Sea Vixen was designed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company during the late 1940s at its Hatfield Aerodrome, Hatfield aircraft factory in Hertfordshire, developed from the company's earlier first generation jet fighters. It was later called the Hawker Siddeley Sea Vixen after de Havilland was absorbed by the Hawker Siddeley Corporation in 1960. The Sea Vixen had the distinction of being the first British two-seat combat aircraft to achieve supersonic speed, albeit not in level flight. Operating from British aircraft carriers, it was used in combat over Tanganyika (1961–1964), Tanganyika and over Yemen during the Aden Emergency. In 1972, the Sea Vixen was phased out in favour of the American-made McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II in UK service, McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Havilland Sea Venom
The de Havilland DH.112 Sea Venom is a British postwar carrier-capable jet aircraft developed from the de Havilland Venom. It served with the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and with the Royal Australian Navy. The French Navy operated the Aquilon, developed from the Sea Venom FAW.20, built under licence by SNCASE (Sud-Est). Design and development The Sea Venom was the navalised version of the Venom NF.2 two-seat night fighter, and was used as an all-weather interceptor by the Fleet Air Arm (FAA). The necessary modifications for use on the Royal Navy's aircraft carriers included folding wings, a tailhook (which retracted into a characteristic "lip" over the jetpipe) and strengthened, long-stroke undercarriage. The canopy was modified to allow ejection from underwater. The first prototype made its first flight in 1951, and began carrier trials that same year. A further two prototypes were built. The first production Sea Venom took the designation FAW.20 (Fighter, All-Weather). It wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HMAS Albatross (air Station)
HMAS ''Albatross'' is the main naval air station for the Royal Australian Navy, Royal Australian Navy's (RAN) aviation branch, the Fleet Air Arm (RAN), Fleet Air Arm. The base, located near Nowra, New South Wales, Nowra, New South Wales, was formally established in May 1942 as Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) base RAAF Nowra, then was transferred to the Royal Navy as HMS Nabbington, HMS ''Nabbington'' in 1944, and operated as a naval air station until it was decommissioned in late 1945. In 1948, the airfield was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS ''Albatross'', as the primary shore base for the Fleet Air Arm. Since 2011, five squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm operate from ''Albatross''. The current commander of the base is Captain (navy), Captain Robyn Phillips, RAN. The base is home to the military airport Naval Air Station (NAS) Nowra , completed in June 1941. History The current site of HMAS ''Albatross'' was identified in 1938 and land was purchased in June 1939. Construction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
