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Station Hack
A Station hack (British English) or Squadron hack (American English), is a utility aeroplane assigned to an air station or squadron (that normally flies another type of aircraft in its role), and utilised for run-of-the-mill activities, including delivering to, or collecting from, other airfields personnel, spare parts, equipment, or documents; activities that would not be considered worthy of the tactical, strategic, or larger transport aeroplanes that might be operated from the same air station. Often these would be "war weary" or otherwise obsolete aircraft no longer suitable for combat operations. War weary aircraft were sometimes refitted for combat. In one case, a Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress due to be scrapped was used for a long range photoreconnaissance mission in the southwest Pacific. The term is derived from the equestrian term for a horse used by competitive riders for everyday, run-of-the-mill riding, as opposed to those used for competitive riding. See also * A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to the collective dialects of English throughout the British Isles taken as a single umbrella variety, for instance additionally incorporating Scottish English, Welsh English, and Ulster English, Northern Irish English. Tom McArthur (linguist), Tom McArthur in the ''Oxford Guide to World English'' acknowledges that British English shares "all the ambiguities and tensions [with] the word 'British people, British' and as a result can be used and interpreted in two ways, more broadly or more narrowly, within a range of blurring and ambiguity". Variations exist in formal (both written and spoken) English in the United Kingdom. For example, the adjective ''wee'' is almost exclusively used in parts of Scotland, North E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances is the de facto common language used in government, education and commerce. Since the 20th century, American English has become the most influential form of English worldwide. American English varieties include many patterns of pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar and particularly spelling that are unified nationwide but distinct from other English dialects around the world. Any American or Canadian accent perceived as lacking noticeably local, ethnic or cultural markers is popularly called "General" or "Standard" American, a fairly uniform accent continuum native to certain regions of the U.S. and associated nationally with broadcast mass media and highly educated speech. However, historical and present linguistic evidence does not sup ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boeing B-17E Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater of Operations and dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during World War II. It is the third-most produced bomber of all time, behind the four-engined Consolidated B-24 Liberator and the multirole, twin-engined Junkers Ju 88. It was also employed as a transport, antisubmarine aircraft, drone controller, and search-and-rescue aircraft. In a USAAC competition, Boeing's prototype Model 299/XB-17 outperformed two other entries but crashed, losing the initial 200-bomber contract to the Douglas B-18 Bolo. Still, the Air Corps ordered 13 more B-17s for further evaluation, then introduced it into service in 1938. The B-17 evolved through numerous design advances but from its inception, the USAAC (later, the USAAF) promoted the aircraft as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hack (horse)
Hack within the activity of equestrianism commonly refers to one of two things: as a verb, it describes the act of pleasure riding for light exercise, and as a breed (Hackney/hack), it is a type of horse used for riding and pulling carriages.Belknap, p. 224 The term is sometimes used to describe certain types of exhibition or horse show classes where quality and good manners of the horse are particularly important. Etymology It is believed that word originated from Hackney, Middlesex (now absorbed into London), an area where horses were pastured. Historically, the term dates to a time when carriage horses were used for riding. These animals were called "hacks" as a contraction of "hackney", and was originally used to describe an ordinary riding horse, particularly one for hire."Hackney" ''Oxford American Dictionaries'' (Macintosh Widget version) The term also gave a name to a specific horse breed developed in England, known as the Hackney, a lively riding horse which is noted fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Assembly Ship
An assembly ship (also known as a formation ship or Judas goat) was a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress or Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber (usually an older model) that was stripped down of its armaments and given extra flares, navigational equipment, and unique distinctive paint scheme in order to organize combat box formations more quickly. History Due to the threat of fighters to US Army Air Force bombers during daylight raids, tight bomber formations began to be employed in order to maximize defensive firepower and to concentrate bombs on the designated target. However, these formations required time to assemble and in 1943 the idea of using older model bombers to guide the others was devised. The USAAF hoped to ideally assemble bomber formations within an hour. However this often required two to three hours as planes from multiple airfields required coordination, all under radio silence so as to not tip off the Germans to the impending raid. The assembly ships had their a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping 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 taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. 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 particularly in promoting international peace and security". T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
