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Harvey Sweetman
Harvey Nelson Sweetman, (10 October 1921 – 15 January 2015) was a New Zealand fighter pilot of the Second World War. He flew extensively with No. 486 (NZ) Squadron over Europe and was later commander of No. 3 Squadron. He was credited with shooting down three aircraft and at least eleven V-1 flying bombs. Early life Harvey Sweetman was born on 10 October 1921 in Auckland, New Zealand, and educated at Matamata District High School in the Waikato, where he was swimming champion and captain of the 1st XI cricket team. He later worked as a clerk. Second World War Sweetman enlisted in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in April 1940 and, after flight training, left New Zealand for Europe as a sergeant pilot later in the year. After converting to the Supermarine Spitfire fighter at an Operational Training Unit, he served briefly with No. 234 Squadron before being posted to No. 485 (NZ) Squadron. Sweetman achieved his first aerial victory on 29 August, when he shot down a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region—the area governed by Auckland Council—which includes outlying rural areas and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, and which has a total population of . While Europeans continue to make up the plurality of Auckland's population, the city became multicultural and cosmopolitan in the late-20th century, with Asians accounting for 31% of the city's population in 2018. Auckland has the fourth largest foreign-born population in the world, with 39% of its residents born overseas. With its large population of Pasifika New Zealanders, the city is also home to the biggest ethnic Polynesian population in the world. The Māori-language name for Auckland is ', meaning "Tāmaki desired by many", in ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Crawford-Compton
Air Vice Marshal William Vernon Crawford-Compton, (2 March 1915 – 2 January 1988) was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He was officially credited with destroying at least 20 enemy aircraft. Born in Invercargill, Crawford-Compton joined the RAF in 1939. He qualified as a pilot the following year and was posted to No. 603 Squadron. In March 1941, he was transferred to a newly formed unit, No. 485 (NZ) Squadron. He flew numerous operations, including during the Channel Dash and was credited with a number of enemy aircraft destroyed. After recovering from injuries received in a crash landing, he served as a flight commander in No. 611 Squadron. He was given command of No. 64 Squadron at the end of 1942 and led it for the early part of the following year. After a period of staff duties, he became wing commander of the Hornchurch fighter wing in mid-1943, and led it until the end of the year. He spent three months in the United St ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabteilung'' of the Imperial Navy, had been disbanded in May 1920 in accordance with the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from having any air force. During the interwar period, German pilots were trained secretly in violation of the treaty at Lipetsk Air Base in the Soviet Union. With the rise of the Nazi Party and the repudiation of the Versailles Treaty, the ''Luftwaffe''s existence was publicly acknowledged on 26 February 1935, just over two weeks before open defiance of the Versailles Treaty through German rearmament and conscription would be announced on 16 March. The Condor Legion, a ''Luftwaffe'' detachment sent to aid Nationalist forces in the Spanish Civil War, provided the force with a valuable testing ... [...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 be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF West Malling
Royal Air Force West Malling or RAF West Malling is a former Royal Air Force station located south of West Malling, Kent and west of Maidstone, Kent, England. Originally used as a landing area during the First World War,RAF West Malling Memorial Group From memorial plinth Retrieved 11 July 2007 the site opened as a private landing ground and in 1930, then known as Kings Hill, home to the Maidstone School of Flying, before being renamed West Malling Airfield, and, in 1932, Maidstone Airport. During the 1930s many s and displays were held by aviators such as |
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon is a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. It was intended to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, as a replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, but several design problems were encountered and it never completely satisfied this requirement.Thomas and Shores 1988, p. 16. The Typhoon was originally designed to mount twelve .303 inch (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns and be powered by the latest engines. Its service introduction in mid-1941 was plagued with problems and for several months the aircraft faced a doubtful future. When the ''Luftwaffe'' brought the new Focke-Wulf Fw 190 into service in 1941, the Typhoon was the only RAF fighter capable of catching it at low altitudes; as a result it secured a new role as a low-altitude interceptor. The Typhoon became established in roles such as night-time intruder and long-range fighter. From late 1942 the Typhoon was equipped with bombs and from late 1943 RP-3 rockets were added ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Day Fighter
A day fighter is a fighter aircraft equipped only to fight during the day. More specifically, it refers to a multi-purpose aircraft that does not include equipment for fighting at night (such as a radar and specialized avionics), although it is sometimes used to refer to some interceptors as well. The term is an example of a retronym: before the development of effective dedicated night fighter aircraft early in World War II, in effect, all fighter aircraft that were not specifically modified for night combat were day fighters. World War II Examples of planes that were classified as day fighters were the Supermarine Spitfire and Messerschmitt Bf 109. Both were excellent interceptors, but were also found in roles such as fighter-bomber and reconnaissance. However, the weight of the radar systems needed to effectively track down enemy bombers at night was such that these smaller aircraft simply couldn't carry them given the electronics of the day. This led to the use of twin-engine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medium Bomber
A medium bomber is a military bomber aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized bombloads over medium range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombers and smaller light bombers. Mediums generally carried about two tons of bombs, compared to light bombers that carried one ton, and heavies that carried four or more. The term was used prior to and during World War II, based on available parameters of engine and aeronautical technology for bomber aircraft designs at that time. After the war, medium bombers were replaced in world air forces by more advanced and capable aircraft. History In the early 1930s many air forces were looking to modernize their existing bomber aircraft fleets, which frequently consisted of older biplanes. The new designs were typically twin-engined monoplanes, often of all-metal construction, and optimized for high enough performance and speed to help evade rapidly evolving fighter aircraft designs of the time. Some ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dornier Do 217
The Dornier Do 217 was a bomber used by the Nazi Germany, German ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II as a more powerful development of the Dornier Do 17, known as the ''Fliegender Bleistift'' (German: "flying pencil"). Designed in 1937 and 1938 as a heavy bomber but not meant to be capable of the longer-range missions envisioned for the larger Heinkel He 177, the Do 217's design was refined during 1939 and production began in late 1940. It entered service in early 1941 and by the beginning of 1942 was available in significant numbers. The Dornier Do 217 had a much larger bomb load capacity and had much greater range than the Do 17. In later variants, dive bomber, dive bombing and maritime strike capabilities using glide bombs were experimented with considerable success being achieved. Early Do 217 variants were more powerful than the contemporary Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88, having a greater speed, range and bomb load. Owing to this it was called a heavy bomber rather than a me ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arthur Umbers
Arthur Ernest Umbers (30 June 1919 – 14 February 1945) was a New Zealand flying ace of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) during the Second World War. He was credited with the destruction of five German aircraft as well at least fifteen V-1 flying bombs. Born in Dunedin, Umbers joined the RNZAF in 1940. After completing his flight training, the latter part of which was received in Canada, he was posted to the Royal Air Force's No. 74 Squadron in August 1941 and then onto No. 486 Squadron, with which he flew extensively on both night operations and offensive sorties for nearly 18 months. After a rest period, during which he was a test pilot for Hawker Siddeley and then the Gloster Aircraft Company, he returned to operational flying in April 1944 with No. 3 Squadron. The squadron was equipped with the Hawker Tempest and when the Germans began launching V-1 flying bombs at England, it was tasked with intercepting them. Umbers was the first New Zealander to destroy a V-1. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night Fighter
A night fighter (also known as all-weather fighter or all-weather interceptor for a period of time after the Second World War) is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility. Night fighters began to be used in World War I and included types that were specifically modified to operate at night. During the Second World War, night fighters were either purpose-built night fighter designs, or more commonly, heavy fighters or light bombers adapted for the mission, often employing radar or other systems for providing some sort of detection capability in low visibility. Many night fighters of the conflict also included instrument landing systems for landing at night, as turning on the runway lights made runways into an easy target for opposing intruders. Some experiments tested the use of day fighters on night missions, but these tended to work only under very favourable circumstances and were not widely successful. Avionics systems were greatly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Kirton In Lindsey
Royal Air Force Kirton in Lindsey or more simply RAF Kirton in Lindsey is a former Royal Air Force station located north of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, England. It's an RAF habit (inherited from the RFC) to name its bases after the nearest railway station, possibly to simplify the process of issuing Rail Warrants to personnel posted there. By that token, the site should be RAF Kirton Lindsey, Kirton Lindsey being the name of the nearby railway station constructed in 1849. No.255 Squadron's Operations Record Book (ORB) consistently uses that version of the name. So does the airfield's separate ORB, from the date of the site's WWII creation (15 May 1940) through to May 1941. After mid-1941 and the departure of No.255 Squadron, use of RAF Kirton-in-Lindsey begins to appear in the site's own records – eventually dominating. On 25 March 2013 it was announced the MOD planned to dispose of the airfield and technical facilities with only accommodation remaining, which was emptied late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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