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Walter C. Beckham
Walter Carl Beckham (May 16, 1916 – May 31, 1996) was a United States Army Air Forces officer during World War II and an American Flying ace, ace credited with 18 air-to-air victories. He remained in the Air Force after the war, obtained a Ph.D. in physics and was a nuclear weapons scientist. Early life Beckham was born on May 12, 1916, in Paxton, Florida. Military career Beckham became a United States Army Air Corps cadet in early 1941, Upon graduation from Aviation Cadet Class 41I(SE) in December, he was commissioned a second lieutenant and assigned to the Panama Canal Zone and Ecuador. After his return to the US, he was promoted to Captain (United States), captain and was assigned to the 351st Fighter Squadron of the 353rd Fighter Group, flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts. World War II In mid-1943, the 353rd FG was initially stationed at RAF Goxhill in Lincolnshire, England, before moving to RAF Metfield in Suffolk, England in August 1943. After switching its base to Metf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paxton, Florida
Paxton is a town in Walton County, Florida, United States. The population was 644 as of the 2010 census. Located near Britton Hill on the Alabama–Florida state line, the town has the highest elevation of any in Florida. Geography Paxton is on the state line with Alabama, being bordered by the town of Florala on the north. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (1.76%) is water. At an elevation of 318 feet (97 m), Paxton is the highest incorporated settlement in Florida. Demographics At the 2000 census there were 656 people, 263 households, and 185 families in the town. The population density was . There were 298 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.05% White, 1.68% African American, 2.90% Native American, 0.15% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.68%. Of the 263 households 28.5% had children under the age of 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flying Ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually considered to be five or more. The concept of the "ace" emerged in 1915 during World War I, at the same time as aerial dogfighting. It was a propaganda term intended to provide the home front with a cult of the hero in what was otherwise a war of attrition. The individual actions of aces were widely reported and the image was disseminated of the ace as a chivalrous knight reminiscent of a bygone era. For a brief early period when air-to-air combat was just being invented, the exceptionally skilled pilot could shape the battle in the skies. For most of the war, however, the image of the ace had little to do with the reality of air warfare, in which fighters fought in formation and air superiority depended heavily on the relative availabili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the end of World War II in 1945. It was one of the most advanced fighters when it first appeared, with an all-metal monocoque construction, a closed canopy, and retractable landing gear. It was powered by a liquid-cooled, inverted-V12 aero engine. It was called the Me 109 by Allied aircrew and some German aces, even though this was not the official German designation. It was designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser who worked at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke during the early to mid-1930s. It was conceived as an interceptor, although later models were developed to fulfill multiple tasks, serving as bomber escort, fighter-bomber, day-, night-, all-weather fighter, ground-attack aircraft, and reconnaissan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nantes, France
Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabitants (2018). With Saint-Nazaire, a seaport on the Loire estuary, Nantes forms one of the main north-western French metropolitan agglomerations. It is the administrative seat of the Loire-Atlantique department and the Pays de la Loire region, one of 18 regions of France. Nantes belongs historically and culturally to Brittany, a former duchy and province, and its omission from the modern administrative region of Brittany is controversial. Nantes was identified during classical antiquity as a port on the Loire. It was the seat of a bishopric at the end of the Roman era before it was conquered by the Bretons in 851. Although Nantes was the primary residence of the 15th-century dukes of Brittany, Rennes became the provincial capital after th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190, nicknamed ''Würger'' ("Shrike") is a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. Along with its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109, the Fw 190 became the backbone of the (Fighter Force) of the . The twin-row BMW 801 radial engine that powered most operational versions enabled the Fw 190 to lift larger loads than the Bf 109, allowing its use as a day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and to a lesser degree, night fighter. The Fw 190A started flying operationally over France in August 1941 and quickly proved superior in all but turn radius to the Supermarine Spitfire (early Merlin-powered variants)#Mk V (Mk V (Types 331, 349 and 352)), Spitfire Mk. V, the main front-line fighter of the Royal Air Force (RAF), particularly at low and medium altitudes. The 190 maintained superiority over Allies of World War II, Allied fighters until th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suffolk, England
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds, Newmarket, and Felixstowe which has one of the largest container ports in Europe. The county is low-lying but can be quite hilly, especially towards the west. It is also known for its extensive farming and has largely arable land with the wetlands of the Broads in the north. The Suffolk Coast & Heaths and Dedham Vale are both nationally designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. History Administration The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Suffolk, and East Anglia generally, occurred on a large scale, possibly following a period of depopulation by the previous inhabitants, the Romanised descendants of the Iceni. By the fifth century, they had established control of the region. The Anglo-Saxon inhabitant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Metfield
Royal Air Force Metfield or more simply RAF Metfield is a former Royal Air Force station located just to the southeast of the village of Metfield, Suffolk, England. Metfield was built as a standard, Class-A bomber design airfield, consisting of three intersecting concrete runways, fifty dispersal points and two T-2 type hangars. Additional buildings were also erected to house about 2,900 personnel on former farmland to the southwest. When it was constructed in 1943, it necessitated the closure of the B1123 road between Halesworth and Harleston. History USAAF use The airfield was built for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force as a heavy bomber field. During the Second World War it was known as USAAF Station 366. Metfield was one of the most isolated Eighth Air Force stations in Suffolk. 353rd Fighter Group The first American occupants of Metfield was the 353rd Fighter Group, moving in from RAF Goxhill on 3 August 1943. The 353rd was assigned to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lincolnshire, England
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north-west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders Northamptonshire in the south for just , England's shortest county boundary. The county town is Lincoln, where the county council is also based. The ceremonial county of Lincolnshire consists of the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire and the area covered by the unitary authorities of North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire. Part of the ceremonial county is in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and most is in the East Midlands region. The county is the second-largest of the English ceremonial counties and one that is predominantly agricultural in land use. The county is fourth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
RAF Goxhill
Royal Air Force Goxhill or RAF Goxhill is a former Royal Air Force station located east of Goxhill, on the south bank of the Humber Estuary, opposite the city of Kingston upon Hull, in north Lincolnshire, England. Origins During the First World War a Royal Flying Corps landing ground existed near the Lincolnshire village of Goxhill. In 1940 the Air Ministry returned to survey the land once again for its suitability as an airfield. Royal Air Force use Goxhill was originally used as a barrage balloon site to protect the port of Hull and the River Humber. In 1940, Goxhill was transferred to RAF Bomber Command and was planned and rebuilt as a bomber airfield. It was equipped with three intersecting runways, the main runway at and two secondary runways of . Three hangars were built: two T-2s, one J-Type and four blisters and fifty aircraft hardstands. Temporary accommodation was provided for 1700+ personnel. Its location, however, was too close to the air defences of Hull to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Republic P-47 Thunderbolt
The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bomber in the ground-attack role. Its primary armament was eight .50-caliber machine guns, and it could carry 5-inch rockets or a bomb load of . When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to 8 tons, making it one of the heaviest fighters of the war. The Thunderbolt was effective as a short-to medium-range escort fighter in high-altitude air-to-air combat and ground attack in both the European and Pacific theaters. The P-47 was designed around the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp 18-cylinder radial engine, which also powered two U.S. Navy/U.S. Marine Corps fighters, the Grumman F6F Hellcat and the Vought F4U Corsair. An advanced turbosupercharger system ensured the aircraft's eventual dominance at high altitudes, while also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Captain (United States)
In the uniformed services of the United States, United States uniformed services, captain is a Officer (armed forces), commissioned-officer rank. In keeping with the traditions of the militaries of most nations, the rank varies between the services, being a senior rank in the naval services and a junior rank in the ground and air forces. Many fire departments and police departments in the United States also use the rank of captain as an officer in a specific unit. Usage For the naval rank, a captain is a senior officer of U.S. uniformed services pay grades O-6 (the sixth officer rank), typically commanding seagoing vessels, major aviation commands and shore installations. This rank is used by the United States Navy, U.S. Navy, United States Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard, United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ekuatur Nunka''), is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific, about west of the mainland. The country's Capital city, capital and largest city is Quito. The territories of modern-day Ecuador were once home to a variety of Indigenous peoples in Ecuador, Indigenous groups that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was Spanish colonization of the Americas, colonized by Spain during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Gran Colombia, from which it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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