CFS - Central Flying School

Aussie Flying Instructor, No 6, Gloucestershire > .   

Central Flying School

● CFS enlarged. Became a unit within Flying Training Command and moved back to RAF Upavon in 1935.
● One machine of each new type sent to RAF Upavon. Characteristics were assessed and written up in the form of Pilots Notes for squadron use.
● 1938 Examining Wing was formed.
● Qualified Flying Instructors (QFIs) trained (9-wk course)

(In the 12 months before September 1939 the fighter defences of Britain improved from about 600 aircraft (all but about 90 obsolescent bi-planes) to 35 squadrons, of which 22 were equipped with the Hurricane and Spitfire. These were to increase to 38 within another 6 months.)

WAR declared 3 September 1939

● 18 September 1939 first QFI course of the war, reduced from 9 weeks to 4 weeks.
● To overcome lack of uniformity and inefficiency flying the new machines, the Air Ministry introduced the 'Examining Officers Scheme'. It established a flight of 8 experienced officers to maintain liaison between CFS and the operational squadrons, in order to instruct the latter in up-to-the minute techniques.
● Pupil intake increased twice in 1940. By December 1940 90 pupils were accepted in each 5 week period.
● 1940 - The examining officers had been absorbed into the Refresher Squadron.
Many examining officers were dispersed to command squadrons and operational training units.
● 1942 - Empire Central Flying School (ECFS) established at RAF Hullavington in Wiltshire under the command of Group Captain Down.
● ECFS drew on the wide experience of the course members to provide a common pool for all the training schools.
● ECFS took many of the staff from RAF Upavon, but left sufficient to form the nucleus of No 7 Flying Instructors' School.

● Refresher Squadron comprised 8 experienced officers to maintain liaison between CFS and the operational squadrons and to instruct the latter in up-to-the minute techniques.
● Examining Flight inspected the Flying Instructors' School in the United Kingdom and re-categorizing instructors.
● Research Flight investigated the practical and psychological problems of flying instruction.
● Eventually the Day/Night Development Unit was added to advance the all-weather flying aspects.

http://www.centralflyingschool.org.uk/history/History1.htm
http://www.centralflyingschool.org.uk/history/History2.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAF_Upavon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Flying_School
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Flying_School#1920_to_1944
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Robb_(RAF_officer)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Commonwealth_Air_Training_Plan#Canada
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Air_Force_uniform .

C5G - Lockheed C-5 Galaxy

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FRED: The Billion-Dollar Disaster - nwyt > .

The Lockheed C-5 Galaxy is a large military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed, and now maintained and upgraded by its successor, Lockheed Martin. It provides the United States Air Force (USAF) with a heavy intercontinental-range strategic airlift capability, one that can carry outsized and oversized loads, including all air-certifiable cargo. The Galaxy has many similarities to the smaller Lockheed C-141 Starlifter and the later Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. The C-5 is among the largest military aircraft in the world.

The C-5 Galaxy's development was complicated, including significant cost overruns, and Lockheed suffered significant financial difficulties. Shortly after entering service, cracks in the wings of many aircraft were discovered and the C-5 fleet was restricted in capability until corrective work was completed. The C-5M Super Galaxy is an upgraded version with new engines and modernized avionics designed to extend its service life to 2040 and beyond.

The USAF has operated the C-5 since 1969. In that time, the airlifter supported US military operations in all major conflicts including Vietnam, Iraq, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan, as well as allied support, such as Israel during the Yom Kippur War and operations in the Gulf War. The Galaxy has also distributed humanitarian aid, provided disaster relief, and supported the US space program.

Commercial Air Travel - WW2

Commercial Airlines WW2, Leslie Howard killed, Churchill target? > .
Heston & Whitchurch to Lisbon.

Leslie Howard died in 1943 when flying to Bristol, UK, from Lisbon, Portugal, on KLM Royal Dutch Airlines/BOAC Flight 777. The aircraft, "G-AGBB" a Douglas DC-3, was shot down by Luftwaffe Junkers Ju 88C6 maritime fighter aircraft over the Bay of Biscay (in Cedeira, A Coruña).[2][37] Howard was among the 17 fatalities, including four ex-KLM flight crew.

The news of Howard's death was published in the same issue of The Times that reported the "death" of Major William Martin, the red herring used for the ruse involved in Operation Mincemeat.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Howard#Death

Stockholm Mosquitos - WW2 British Airways Secret Flights > .
Churchill - tb >> .

de Havilland - History, DH planes, Mosquito

De Havilland Mosquito > .

de Havilland Mosquito: Bandit Of The Air > .
De Havilland History, Line-Up. Mosquito > .
https://youtu.be/vh4vazBq-X4?t=47 .
Mosquito Design, Construction > .
https://youtu.be/vh4vazBq-X4?t=615 .
ASW > .
https://youtu.be/vh4vazBq-X4?t=2171 .

Sub Chasers of the Civil Air Patrol > .
Why Depth Charges Don't Have to Touch a Submarine to Sink It > .

DH89 Dragon Rapide ..  

de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito .. 

Dicta Boelcke

.Father of Air Combat: Oswald Boelcke & Dicta Boelcke - Yarnhub > .

"In the early years of flight, the tactics for aerial battle had not yet been understood. It was a new way of fighting and lessons had to be learned the hard way, with experience. A few pioneers had to develop the best tactics and write the rules. The most preeminent of these was Oswald Boelcke. One of his most successful protégés was the legendary Red Baron. Boelcke wrote the rules of successful aerial combat that influence the battlefield even today."

Oswald Boelcke PlM (19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916) was a World War I German professional soldier and pioneering flying ace credited with 40 aerial victories. Boelcke is honored as the father of the German fighter air force, and is considered the "father of air combat". He was a very influential mentor, patrol leader, and tactician in the first years of air combat, 1915 and 1916.

The Dicta Boelcke is a list of fundamental aerial maneuvers of aerial combat formulated by First World War German flying ace Oswald Boelcke. Equipped with one of the first fighter aircraft, Boelcke became Germany's foremost flying ace during 1915 and 1916. Because of his success in aerial combat and analytic mind, he was tasked by Colonel Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen with writing a pamphlet on aerial tactics. Completed in June 1916, it was distributed throughout the German Army's Air Service (Die Fliegertruppen des Deutschen Reiches), some two years before the French and British militaries followed suit with their own tactical guides. Air combat tactical manuals based on the Dicta Boelcke have become more elaborate over time, and have become a mainstay for NATO's air combat training of American, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Turkish, Italian, and Greek fighter pilots.

According to Boelcke's first biographer, Professor Johannes von Werner, the eight dicta were written for Colonel Hermann von der Lieth-Thomsen.

1. Try to secure advantages before attacking. If possible, keep the sun behind you.
2. Always carry through an attack when you have started it.
3. Fire only at close range, and only when your opponent is properly in your sights.
4. Always keep your eye on your opponent, and never let yourself be deceived by ruses.
5. In any form of attack it is essential to assail your enemy from behind.
6. If your opponent dives on you, do not try to evade his onslaught, but fly to meet it.
7. When over the enemy's lines never forget your own line of retreat.
8. For the Staffel (squadron): Attack on principle in groups of four or six. When the fight breaks up into a series of single combats, take care that several do not go for the same opponent.