Flying Ace
A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace varies, but is usually considered to be five or more. The concept of the "Ace (military), 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 Attrition warfare, 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 an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Manfred Von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of the war, being officially credited with 80 air combat victories. Originally a cavalryman, Richthofen transferred to the Air Service in 1915, becoming one of the first members of fighter squadron '' Jagdstaffel 2'' in 1916. He quickly distinguished himself as a fighter pilot, and during 1917 became the leader of ''Jasta 11''. Later he led the larger fighter wing '' Jagdgeschwader I'', better known as "The Flying Circus" or "Richthofen's Circus" because of the bright colours of its aircraft, and perhaps also because of the way the unit was transferred from one area of Entente air activity to another – moving like a travelling circus, and frequently setting up in tents on improvised airfields. By 1918, Richthofen was regarded as a nati ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fokker Scourge
The Fokker Scourge (Fokker Scare) occurred during the First World War from Kurt Wintgens#First victory using a synchronized gun, July 1915 to early 1916.Franks 2001, p. 1. Imperial German Flying Corps () units, equipped with (Fokker monoplane) fighter aircraft, fighters, gained an advantage over the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the French . The Fokker was the first service aircraft to be fitted with a machine gun Synchronization gear, synchronised to fire through the arc of the propeller without striking the blades. The tactical advantage of aiming the gun by aiming the aircraft and the surprise of its introduction were factors in its success.Kennett 1991, p. 110. This period of German air superiority ended with the arrival in numbers of the French Nieuport 11 and British Airco DH.2 fighters, which were capable of challenging the Fokkers, although the last Fokkers were not finally replaced until August–September 1916. The term "Fokker Scourge" was coined by the British press ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sub Rosa
''Sub rosa'' (Neo-Latin for "under the rose") is a Latin phrase which denotes secrecy or confidentiality. The rose has an ancient history as a symbol of secrecy. History In Hellenistic and later Roman mythology, roses were associated with secrecy because Cupid gave a rose to Harpocrates (the Hellenistic god of silence) so that he would not reveal the secrets of Venus. Banquet rooms were decorated with rose carvings, reportedly as a reminder that discussions in the rooms should be kept in confidence. This was inherited in later Christian symbolism, where roses were carved on confessionals to signify that the conversations would remain secret. The phrase entered the German language (''unter der Rose'') and, later, the English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic people ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flying Tigers
The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC), United States Navy, Navy (USN), and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps (USMC), and was commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. Their Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Curtiss P-40B Warhawk aircraft, marked with Chinese colors, flew under American control. Recruited under President Franklin Roosevelt's authority before Attack on Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor, their mission was to bomb Japan and defend the Republic of China, but many delays meant the AVG first flew in combat after the US and Japan declared war. The group consisted of three fighter aircraft, fighter Squadron (aviation), squadrons of around 30 aircraft each that trained in Burma before the American entry into World War II to defend the Republic of China against Empire ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Soviet Volunteer Group
The Soviet Volunteer Group was the volunteer part of the Soviet Air Forces sent to support the Republic of China during the Second Sino-Japanese War between 1937 and 1941. After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, the Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact was signed leading to considerable Soviet military assistance to China, including the volunteer squadrons. China paid for the support with raw materials. Background In the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929 and the subsequent worldwide economic crisis, the Empire of Japan pursued an expansionist policy against its weakened neighbors in the Far East. On 18 September 1931, Japan staged the Mukden Incident using it as a pretext for its invasion of Chinese Manchuria. Japan went on to transform the north–east of China into a puppet state under the name of Manchukuo. In the plans of the Japanese general staff, Manchukuo was to serve as a stepping stone for the future conquest of the rest of China. Facing increasing pressure China s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joaquín García Morato
Joaquín García-Morato y Castaño, 1st Count of Jarama (4 May 1904 – 4 April 1939) was a fighter pilot for Nationalist Spain who had the highest number of aerial victories of the Spanish Civil War. He is credited with 40 aerial victories, four gained while flying Heinkel He 51s and 36 with an Italian Fiat CR.32.Shores 1983, p. 49. An accomplished prewar pilot, Joaquín García-Morato served in Morocco (fighting Abd el-Krim insurgents during the Rif War), excelled in aerobatics, and instructed instrument flying. Spanish Civil War He was on holiday in England when the Civil War began. Hastening home to join the Nationalist cause, he gained his first victory on 12 August 1936 in a Nieuport-Delage 52, shooting down one of three Vickers Vildebeest over Antequera. He then flew one of the first Heinkel He 51s received from Germany. Flying this aircraft, on 18 August, he shot down a Republican NiD 52 and a Potez 540. He downed another NiD 52 on 2 September. He then began flying ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spanish People
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguistic group, ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western European populations, exhibiting a high degree of continuity with other Indo-European languages, Indo-European-derived ethnic groups in the region. Spain is also home to a diverse array of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional identities, shaped by its complex History of Spain, history. These include various Languages of Spain, languages and dialects, many of which are direct descendants of Latin, the language imposed during Hispania, Roman rule. Among them, Spanish language, Spanish (also known as Castilian) is the most widely spoken and the only official language across the entire country. Commonly ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part of World War II, and often regarded as the beginning of World WarII in Asia. It was the largest Asian war in the 20th century and has been described as The Asian Holocaust, in reference to the scale of Japanese war crimes against Chinese civilians. It is known in China as the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. On 18 September 1931, the Japanese staged the Mukden incident, a false flag event fabricated to justify their Japanese invasion of Manchuria, invasion of Manchuria and establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo. This is sometimes marked as the beginning of the war. From 1931 to 1937, China and Japan engaged in skirmishes, including January 28 incident, in Shanghai and in Northern China. Chinese Nationalist and C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing politics, left-leaning Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic. The opposing Nationalists were an alliance of Falangism, Falangists, monarchists, conservatives, and Traditionalism (Spain), traditionalists led by a National Defense Junta, military junta among whom General Francisco Franco quickly achieved a preponderant role. Due to the international Interwar period#Great Depression, political climate at the time, the war was variously viewed as class struggle, a War of religion, religious struggle, or a struggle between dictatorship and Republicanism, republican democracy, between revolution and counterrevolution, or between fascism and communism. The Nationalists won the war, which ended in early 1939, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Charles George Gass
Charles George Gass, MC (18 April 1898 – March 1977) was the highest scoring observer ace during the First World War, with a total of 39 victories (16 solo) scored serving as a gunner flying with various pilots. After working in the Post Office between the wars, he was recalled to the Royal Air Force in early 1940. Early life and First World War Gass was born in Chelsea, London, on 18 April 1898. He originally joined the 2/24th Battalion, London Regiment, of the Territorial Force and became a sergeant, the rank he held when he first entered a theatre of war on 25 June 1916.Copies of these medal cards are also available from ancestry.com (subscription required), only these copies show the additional details on the reverse of the card. He was then commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 17th Battalion, London Regiment, and was attached to the Royal Flying Corps from 1917. On 26 March 1918, he was assigned to No. 22 Squadron as an observer on Bristol F.2bs, flying in France. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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17th Weapons Squadron
The 17th Weapons Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the USAF Weapons School at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The squadron traces its lineage to the United States Army Air Service's 17th Aero Squadron, 17th and 147th Aero Squadrons, both of which were active during World War I. The 147th was redesignated the 17th Pursuit Squadron in the post-war Air Service and later consolidated with the 17th Aero Squadron in 1936 to preserve the history of both pursuit units. The 17th Aero Squadron was activated in August 1917 and earned 13 campaign streamers in France flying the Sopwith Camel. The 147th Aero Squadron was organized in November 1917 and flew the Nieuport 28 and SPAD S.XIII fighters, earning eight streamers. During World War II, the 17th Pursuit Squadron participated in the defense of the Philippines flying the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and garnering the first American Ace of World War II. Wiped out during the Philippines campaign (1941–1942), Battle of the Phi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |