HOME





No. 682 Squadron RAF
No. 682 Squadron RAF was a aerial reconnaissance, photo reconnaissance squadron of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. History The squadron was formed on 1 February 1943 at Houari Boumedienne Airport, Maison Blanche, Algeria from No. 4 aerial reconnaissance, Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU) RAF. It was at first equipped with Supermarine Spitfire, Spitfire PR.IVs and -shortly- de Havilland Mosquito, Mosquito PR.IVs and PR.VIs, and later flew the Spitfire PR.XI in support of the campaign in Tunisia, Sicily, and then Italy. The squadron supported the invasion of Italy and carried out sorties over Yugoslavia including special reconnaissance for army and commando operations. In 1944 the squadron began to target southern France and it moved detachments to France in September 1944, receiving the superlative photographic reconnaissance version of the Spitfire, the Supermarine Spitfire (Griffon powered variants)#Mk XIX (Mk 19) (types 389 and 390), PR.XIX. It returned to c ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of List of islands of the United Kingdom, the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering . Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. It maintains sovereignty over the British Overseas Territories, which are located across various oceans and seas globally. The UK had an estimated population of over 68.2 million people in 2023. The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is London. The cities o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Foggia Airfield Complex
The Foggia Airfield Complex was a series of World War II military airfields located within a radius of Foggia, in the Province of Foggia, Italy. The airfields were used by the United States Army Air Forces' Fifteenth Air Force as part of the strategic bombardment campaign against Nazi Germany in 1944 and 1945, as well as the Twelfth Air Force, the British Royal Air Force and the South African Air Force during the Italian Campaign (World War II), Italian Campaign (1943–1945). History Before World War II, the Italian Royal Air Force Regia Aeronautica constructed a series of airfields in the Foggia area. They consisted of hard-surfaced runways and taxiways, concrete parking areas and permanent buildings for the support units and barracks. After the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces in September, 1943 these airfields were seized by the German Luftwaffe. While under Axis control, the airfields were heavily bombed by the U.S. Army Air Forces and Royal Air Force in 194 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Nancy-Essey Airport
Nancy–Essey Airport is a regional airport in France, located about east of Nancy (in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department of the Grand Est region) and about east of Paris. It used to be the main airport for Nancy; however, commercial airline traffic was moved to the new Metz-Nancy-Lorraine Airport in 1991. The airfield is open to domestic and international non-scheduled commercial, private aircraft, for IFR and VFR, supporting general aviation and charter aircraft operations. History Before 1926, the site was used as a military airfield. However, the airfield was too small, and without possibility of extension and being judged difficult to use, the airfield at the site was closed. In 1936, the current airport was built as a grass airfield for the French Air Force, and was used as a flight school. In addition to the military use before World War II, because of the proximity of Paris, the airport was used in the mid-1930s by the postal company Blue Air, which operated a se ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Dijon Air Base
Dijon-Longvic Air Base (, ) was a French Air Force () air base. The airfield is located approximately east-southeast of Longvic; about southeast of Paris. Operating as a joint civilian base, it is today used as a commercial airport named ''Aéroport Dijon-Bourgogne''. History Dijon-Longvic Air Base was one of the oldest of the Armée de l'Air, being established in 1914, having origins beginning in September 1910 as a civilian aerodrome. It has been active for 102 years, through both 20th Century World Wars, the Cold War, and numerous crises. The military left the base in June 2016. World War I In the years following the sumptuous "aviation parties" that were held in Dijon (from 22 to 25 September 1910), the French War Department decided to build a military airfield near the city, and on 7 July 1913, nine hectares located between the villages of Ouges and Longvic, near the National Road 468, were declared of public utility. This airfield became operational in the spring of 19 ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Peretola Airport
Florence Airport, Peretola , in Italian ''Aeroporto di Firenze-Peretola'', formally Amerigo Vespucci Airport, is the international airport of Florence, the capital of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is the second-busiest Tuscan airport in terms of passengers after Pisa International Airport. History Early years The first air field in Florence was created in the Campo di Marte area in 1910, when military authorities allowed a field to be used for "experiments in air navigation". Campo di Marte thus became Florence's first airport, and remained so throughout the 1920s. However, the field was soon surrounded by houses and was inadequate for the new aircraft that were then replacing the first canvas-covered craft. In 1928, a location on the plain between Florence and Sesto Fiorentino was chosen. Peretola Airport opened there on 4 June 1931. At first, Peretola was a large field where airplanes took off and landed with no formal direction, but eventually, the Ministry of Aerona ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Valence-Chabeuil Airport
Valence – Chabeuil Airport is an airport in France, located about east of Valence, Drôme, Valence (in the Drôme department, Rhone-Alpes region) and approximately south-southeast of Paris. The airport was a pre-World War II French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) airfield. After the Battle of France, it was seized by Nazi Germany in November 1942. It was later used by the Luftwaffe, and after the Allied Operation Dragoon, Invasion of southern France in August 1944, by the United States Army Air Forces Twelfth Air Force. Used by the French Air Force base after the war, it was closed and today the airport is used for general aviation, with no commercial airline service. It is still occasionally used by military aircraft. The French army aviation (Aviation légère de l'Armée de terre) have maintained a small enclave here for many years operating a small number of diverse helicopter types as part of the test unit GALSTA/STAT. Closure of this facility (with the unit moving to Le Lu ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlantic, North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and List of islands of France, many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean, giving it Exclusive economic zone of France, one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Metropolitan France shares borders with Belgium and Luxembourg to the north; Germany to the northeast; Switzerland to the east; Italy and Monaco to the southeast; Andorra and Spain to the south; and a maritime border with the United Kingdom to the northwest. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea. Its Regions of France, eighteen integral regions—five of which are overseas—span a combined area of and hav ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Le Luc – Le Cannet Airport
Le Luc-Le Cannet Airport is an airport located at Le Cannet-des-Maures, east of Le Luc, in the Var department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southern France. The airport is open to public air traffic, but has no commercial airline service. It also has military use as part of ''Base école Général Lejay'', a French Army (''Armée de Terre'') training facility for combat helicopters and various ground equipment. History Le Luc Airport was built prior to World War II and was seized by Allied Forces during Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France in August 1944. After minimal repairs by the United States Army Air Forces Twelfth Air Force XII Engineer Command, it was turned over for operations use by XII Fighter Command on 22 August. It was not given an advanced landing ground designation. Known units assigned to the airfield were: * 27th Fighter Group, August 1944, A-36 Apache * 324th Fighter Group, 25 August-2 September 1944, P-47 Thunderbolt With th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bastia – Poretta Airport
Bastia ( , , , ; ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the island after Ajaccio and is the capital of the Bagnaja region and of the department. Bastia is the principal port of the island and its principal commercial town and is known for its wines. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Bastiais'' or ''Bastiaises''. The commune has been awarded three flowers by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and villages in Bloom''. History Ancient times During the Roman Empire, the site of Cardo with the north-eastern district of the current commune of Bastia and Pietrabugno formed a Pieve: the oldest known administrative division. This territory was occupied by the Vanacimi people. Bastia did not exist. Neither Ptolemy, Strabo, or Pliny in the descriptions th ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Follonica Airfield
Follonica Airfield is an abandoned World War II military airfield in Italy, located in the vicinity of Follonica in Tuscany; about 180 km northwest of Rome. It was an all-weather temporary field built by the United States Army Air Force XII Engineer Command using a graded earth compacted surface, with a prefabricated hessian (burlap) surfacing known as PHS. PHS was made of an asphalt-impregnated jute which was rolled out over the compacted surface over a square mesh track (SMT) grid of wire joined in 3-inch squares. Pierced Steel Planking was also used for parking areas, as well as for dispersal sites, when it was available. In addition, tents were used for billeting and also for support facilities; an access road was built to the existing road infrastructure; a dump for supplies, ammunition, and gasoline drums, along with a drinkable water and minimal electrical grid for communications and station lighting. Once completed it was turned over for use by the Twelfth Air ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]