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Sir Charles Portal
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Frederick Algernon Portal, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford, (21 May 1893 – 22 April 1971) was a senior Royal Air Force officer. He served as a bomber pilot in the First World War, and rose to become first a flight commander and then a squadron commander, flying light bombers on the Western Front. In the early stages of the Second World War he was commander-in-chief of Bomber Command. He was an advocate of strategic area bombing against German industrial areas, and viewed it as a war winning strategy. In October 1940 he was made Chief of the Air Staff, and remained in this post for the rest of the war. During his time as Chief he continuously supported the strategic bombing offensive against Germany, and advocated the formation of the Pathfinder Force, critical to improving the destructive force of Bomber Command. He fended off attempts by the Royal Navy to take command over RAF Coastal Command, and resisted attempts by the Britis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marshal Of The Royal Air Force
Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (United Kingdom), Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom), Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving Marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal. Although general promotions to Marshal of the Royal Air Force have been discontinued since the British defence cuts of the 1990s, further promotions to the rank may still be made in wartime, for members of the British Royal Family, Royal Family and certain very senior RAF air officers in peacetime at the discretion of the monarch; all such promotions in peacetime are only honorary, however. In 2012, the then Charles III, Prince of Wales was promoted to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The MC is granted in recognition of "an act or acts of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land" to all members of the British Armed Forces of any rank. In 1979, Queen Elizabeth II approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, could be recommended posthumously. History The award was created on 28 December 1914 for Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the substantive rank of Captain (land), captain or below and for warrant officers. The first 98 awards were gazetted on 1 January 1915, to 71 officers, and 27 warrant officers. Although posthumous recommendations for the Military Cross were unavailable until 1979, the first awards included ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Admiral (Royal Navy)
Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy, which equates to the NATO rank code Ranks and insignia of NATO, OF-9, outranked only by the rank of Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy), admiral of the fleet. Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of Rear Admiral (Royal Navy), rear admiral, Vice Admiral (Royal Navy), vice admiral and admiral of the fleet are sometimes considered generically to be admirals. The rank of admiral is currently the highest rank to which a serving officer in the Royal Navy can be promoted, admiral of the fleet being in abeyance except for honorary promotions of retired officers and members of the royal family. The equivalent rank in the British Army and Royal Marines is General (United Kingdom), general; and in the Royal Air Force, it is air chief marshal. History The first admirals The title admiral was not used in Europe until the mid-13th century and did not reach England before the end of that century. Similarly, although some royal vessels are attested un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the south-east, Hampshire to the south, and Wiltshire to the west. Reading, Berkshire, Reading is the largest settlement and the county town. The county has an area of and a population of 911,403. The population is concentrated in the east, the area closest to Greater London, which includes the county's largest towns: Reading (174,224), Slough (164,793), Bracknell (113,205), and Maidenhead (70,374). The west is rural, and its largest town is Newbury, Berkshire, Newbury (33,841). For local government purposes Berkshire comprises six Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas: Bracknell Forest, Borough of Reading, Reading, Borough of Slough, Slough, West Berkshire, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead ... [...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] |
Tube Investments
TI Group plc (formerly "Tube Investments") was a holding company for specialised engineering companies. It was based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire and was listed on the London Stock Exchange, at one point being a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. The company was originally registered as ''Tube Investments'' in 1919, combining the seamless steel tube businesses of various companies. In 1949, the company established TI Cycles of India as a joint venture with the Murugappa family. During 1956, it created the subsidiary ''British Cycle Corporation'', consisting of Armstrong, Norman Cycles, Sun Cycles, Phillips Cycles, Hercules Cycles, and merged it with Raleigh Industries. During the 1980s, the company acquired Alfred Herbert Ltd, Houdaille, and Armco Inc.'s European Tubing business. In 1987, Raleigh was sold to Derby International while Creda was sold to GEC. During 1992, TI Group acquired Dowty Group, after which the business underwent heavy restructuring, making 1,500 f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ivan Stedeford
Sir Ivan Arthur Rice Stedeford GBE, (28 January 18979 February 1975) was a British industrialist and philanthropist. Stedeford was chairman and managing director of Tube Investments (T.I.) and one of Britain's leading 20th-century industrialists. Education Stedeford was the son of the Reverend Charles Stedeford, who served as President of the United Methodist Conference in 1928. Stedeford began his education at Shebbear College in North Devon. The family frequently moved as Charles Stedeford's ministry took him to different parts of the country and Stedeford finished his education at the King Edward VI Aston in Birmingham. Early career Stedeford left school in 1913 to become an engineering apprentice at Wolseley Motors Ltd. In 1917, he decided to play a more active role in the First World War and was commissioned in the Royal Naval Air Service, tasked as a balloon forward air observer, a somewhat static and highly dangerous assignment, even by the standards of other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Aluminium
British Aluminium was an aluminium production company. It was originally formed as the British Aluminium Company Ltd on 7 May 1894 and was subsequently known as British Alcan Aluminium plc (1982-1996). History In the late 1880s and early 1890s, innovations in the extraction of alumina from ore (bauxite) and of converting this into aluminium by electrolysis had precipitated a drastic fall in the price of the metal. The electrolytic process required large amounts of electricity, which could be easily and cheaply provided by hydro-electric power in the Scottish Highlands. The first aluminium ingots were produced at Foyers in the highlands in 1895 with the first hydro-electric powered smelter opening in 1896 followed by two more, at Kinlochleven in 1909 and Lochaber in 1929. Unsuccessful attempts at bauxite extraction in Northern Ireland forced the company to acquire a controlling interest in Union des Bauxites of Southern France. This established source was supplemented by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation had been neglected in the inter-war period, due to disagreements between the Royal Navy (RN) and RAF over the ownership, roles and investment in maritime air power.Buckley, 2018. p.85 The Admiralty's main concern until 1937 was the return of the Fleet Air Arm to the Royal Navy while the RAF concentrated on the development of a bombing force to provide a deterrent. Coastal Command was referred to as the "Cinderella Service" by A V Alexander, the First Lord of the Admiralty in November 1940. Soon after RAF Coastal Area was elevated to Coastal Command, its headquarters moved from Lee-on-Solent to Northwood in northwest London. During the Second World War, Coastal Command's most important contribution was the protection of Allied convoys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early Middle Ages, medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Kingdom of France, France. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the English Navy of the early 16th century; the oldest of the British Armed Forces, UK's armed services, it is consequently known as the Senior Service. From the early 18th century until the World War II, Second World War, it was the world's most powerful navy. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing and defending the British Empire, and four Imperial fortress colonies and a string of imperial bases and coaling stations secured the Royal Navy's ability to assert naval superior ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pathfinder Force
The Pathfinders were target-marking squadrons in RAF Bomber Command during World War II. They located and marked targets with flares, at which a main bomber force could aim, increasing the accuracy of their bombing. The Pathfinders were normally the first to receive new blind-bombing aids such as Gee, Oboe and the H2S radar. The early Pathfinder Force (PFF) squadrons were expanded to become a group, No. 8 (Pathfinder Force) Group, in January 1943. The initial Pathfinder Force was five squadrons, whilst No 8 Group ultimately grew to a strength of 19 squadrons. Whereas the majority of Pathfinder squadrons and personnel were from the Royal Air Force, the group also included No 405 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force as well as many individual airmen from the air forces of other Commonwealth countries. History Background At the start of the Second World War in September 1939 the doctrine of RAF Bomber Command was based on tight formations of heavily armed bombers attack ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strategic Bombing
Strategic bombing is a systematically organized and executed military attack from the air which can utilize strategic bombers, long- or medium-range missiles, or nuclear-armed fighter-bomber aircraft to attack targets deemed vital to the enemy's war-making capability. It is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the Theater (warfare)#Theater of operations, theatres of military operations, or both. The term terror bombing is used to describe the strategic bombing of civilian targets without military value, in the hope of damaging an enemy's morale. One of the strategies of war is to demoralization (warfare), demoralize the enemy so that peace or surrender becomes preferable to continuing the conflict. Strategic bombing has been used to this end. The phrase "terror bombing" entered the English lexicon towards the end of World War II and many strategic bombing cam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
