Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: What was the first fighter plane used by the Royal Air Force?
The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to achieve combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft began in 1940, although work on the engines had been under way since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations on 27 July 1944 with No. 616 Squadron RAF. The Meteor was not a sophisticated aircraft in its aerodynamics, but proved to be a successful combat fighter. Gloster's 1946 civil Meteor F.4 demonstrator G-AIDC was the first civilian-registered jet aircraft in the world.[1]
Soon after the Second World War broke out, the British authority felt the need of constructing the Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) stations in Dhaka and other vulnerable places in Bangladesh territory. The construction of Tejgaon Airport at a place named Dainodda started in 1941; and the building of a landing strip at Kurmitola (Balurghat) started at about the same time. The airstrips at Tejgaon and Kurmitola had military fighter plane landing facilities and the British Royal Air Force used the airstrips for safe up‑keeping of their aircraft. There was also an American air force detachment here during the war. The first RIAF light fighter landed on the under‑construction runway of Tejgaon at the beginning of 1943 and after development of the airport facilities, it became the first civil airport of Bangladesh. Today it is a part of BAF (Bangladesh Air Force) Base Bashar.
The 4th Fighter Group was an American element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Eighth Air Force during World War II. The group was known as the Debden Eagles because it was created from the three Eagle Squadrons of the Royal Air Force: No. 71, No. 121 Squadron RAF, and No. 133 Squadron RAF. These squadrons became the 334th, 335th, and 336th Fighter Squadrons of the 4th Fighter Group based at RAF Debden. The group was the first fighter group to fly combat missions over Germany airspace, the first to escort bombers over Berlin, and the first selected to escort bombers on shuttle bombing runs landing in Russia. The group was credited with shooting down 1,016 German planes.
Control over the area was transferred to the Royal Danish Army in January 1946, continuing the use as refugee camp until 1949. In 1947 the Danish Army Air Corps established a flying school, maintenance centre and logistics office at Karup, preparing for Meteor, Oxford and Spitfire fighter planes. When the Royal Danish Air Force was established in 1950 the area was named Air Base Karup.
The first North Vietnamese combat plane was a T-28 Trojan trainer, whose pilot defected from the Royal Lao Air Force; it was utilised from early 1964 by the North Vietnamese as a night fighter. The T-28 was the first North Vietnamese aircraft to shoot down a US aircraft, a C-123, on 15 February 1964.
Turkish Stars fly with eight Canadair NF-5 fighter planes obtained from the Royal Netherlands Air Force, making them the only aerobatics team with formations of eight supersonic aircraft and one of few national aerobatics teams to fly supersonic aircraft. Twelve NF-5 fighter planes are available to the team. The team uses CASA/IPTN CN-235, C-130 and C-160 support aircraft in Turkish Stars colours. The team is stationed at the Konya Air Base of 3rd Main Jet Base Group Command.
After World War II the Air Force underwent several developmental stages, the first major air force modernization being performed from 1953 to 1959. Aircraft made in the West are introduced thus broaching the era of jet aviation. With the forming of first helicopter escadrille in 1954 the chopper units were also incorporated within the Air Forces branch. At the beginning of 1960s supersonic fighters were introduced, followed by intensive growth of Serbian aviation industry in that period. A number of jet planes prototypes were constructed, which served as basis for the development of training fighters and fighter aircraft, such as ”Galeb” and “Jastreb”, “G-4” and “Orao” and the most advanced fighter aircraft MiG-29 was introduced in the mid-1980s.
In the Western European Theatre of World War II, air power became crucial throughout the war, both in tactical and strategic operations (respectively, battlefield and long-range). Superior German aircraft, aided by ongoing introduction of design and technology innovations, allowed the German armies to overrun Western Europe with great speed in 1940, largely assisted by lack of Allied aircraft, which in any case lagged in design and technical development during the slump in research investment after the Great Depression.
Since the end of World War I, the French Air Force had been badly neglected, as military leaders preferred to spend money on ground armies and static fortifications to fight another World War I-style war. As a result, by 1940, the French Air Force had only 1562 planes and was together with 1070 RAF planes facing 5,638 Luftwaffe fighters and fighter-bombers. Most French airfields were located in north-east France, and were quickly overrun in the early stages of the campaign. The Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom possessed some very advanced fighter planes, such as Spitfires and Hurricanes, but these were not useful for attacking ground troops on a battlefield, and the small number of planes dispatched to France with the British Expeditionary Force were destroyed fairly quickly. Subsequently, the Luftwaffe was able to achieve air superiority over France in 1940, giving the German military an immense advantage in terms of reconnaissance and intelligence.
Gordon Levett (1921–2000) was a former Royal Air Force pilot in World War II who volunteered for a covert mission to fly supplies including dismantled fighter planes into the fledgling state of Israel in its War for Independence. Later Levett joined the first squadron of the newly created Israeli Air Force, helping establish a permanent Israeli military and aiding in the founding of the state of Israel. Levett was the only English gentile pilot in the Israeli Air Force, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel.
3D printing is also being utilized by air forces to print spare parts for planes. In 2015, a Royal Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jet flew with printed parts. The United States Air Force has begun to work with 3D printers, and the Israeli Air Force has also purchased a 3D printer to print spare parts.
The Swedish Air Force underwent a rapid modernization from 1945. It was no longer politically acceptable to equip it with second-rate models. Instead, the Air Staff purchased the best it could find from abroad, e.g. P-51D Mustangs, De Havilland Mosquito NF.19 night fighters and de Havilland Vampires, and supported the development of top performance domestic models. When the Saab 29 Tunnan fighter was introduced around 1950, Sweden suddenly had planes that were equal to the best of the Royal Air Force, the Soviet Union's VVS, and the U.S. Air Force.
The D.I was the first locally designed fighter aircraft to be adopted into the Austro-Hungarian Air Service ("Luftfahrtruppen"). It was manufactured both in-house and under license by a number of subcontractors. In 1917, the D.I entered Austro-Hungarian service and saw active operations in the final years of the First World War; it was commonly used for aerial reconnaissance missions, as many fighter units continued to prefer using the German-built Albatros D.III conducting air superiority operations. Following the end of the conflict, it was adopted by the Hungarian Air Force, the Royal Romanian Air Force and the Royal Yugoslav Air Force.
The former Ramey Air Force Base in Aguadilla has been closed for decades, and no other Air Force Bases or Naval Air Stations remain. The Puerto Rico Air National Guard no longer has any fighter planes within its jurisdiction. On January 12, 1981, a group calling itself Volunteer Organization for the Revolution, aka Los Macheteros, claimed responsibility for blowing up six Vought A-7 Corsair aircraft in what is known as Base Muñiz; a Puerto Rico Air National Guard base at a loss of $40 million. Responsibility for the air defense of Puerto Rico now rests with USAF or US Navy fighters that would be flown in case of a military emergency.
The first combat aircraft that entered service in the reestablished air force in 1937 were 12 Arado Ar.65 fighters, 12 Heinkel He.51 fighters, 12 Dornier Do.11 bombers and 12 Heinkel He.45B recon planes. These machines are known as the Royal Gift, donated to the HMAT personally by King Boris III.
In response to what has become known as the Gulf of Tonkin incident in 1964, Tactical Air Command (TAC) pilots, navigators and support personnel found themselves deployed from the CONUS to PACAF bases such as Da Nang Air Base and Phan Rang AB in South Vietnam. Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base and Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand were also used by deployed TAC fighter squadrons.
By the 1950s, the next major group of fighter aircraft were planes that used air-to-air missiles as their primary armament and could routinely exceed the speed of sound in level flight. First-generation fighters were limited to engagements in visual range, and the expected performance of new missiles, like the AIM-7 Sparrow, with semi-active radar homing, forced changes in aircraft design.
At the age of 17 Temple went to fight in World War I, joining the Royal Navy Air Service as a fighter pilot before transferring to the Royal Air Force, where he destroyed three Royal Air Force planes and no enemy ones. In 1942, during World War II, he was a flying officer on intelligence operations for the Royal Canadian Air Force stationed in Sydney, Nova Scotia and Gander, Newfoundland.
The Royal Thai Air Force initially considered a candidate to purchase the F-16/79. Thailand's first order was ultimately for 12 F-16A/B-15OCU fighters, immediately bolstered by a further 6 F-16A-15OCU planes. 18 more aircraft were received in 1995, the last new-production block 15 aircraft built. An attempt to buy F/A-18 Hornets failed, and in place of them, the US offered to sell USAF F-16ADFs Excess Defense Articles. A total of 18 examples were bought. In early 2005, the Royal Thai Air Force received 3 F-16A-15OCU and 4 F-16B-15OCU from the Republic of Singapore Air Force. The Thai Foreign Military Sales program is known as PEACE NARESUAN.
The attacks of both sides were supported by indirect fire. The Dutch requested air support from the British Royal Air Force, but they were unable to divert any planes from the ongoing battle in France. Instead, the Royal Netherlands Air Force dispatched the last aircraft it could spare: four old Fokker C.X light bombers, which were protected by the last operational fighters. Thirty bombs were dropped on the German artillery positions in front of the Grebbeberg, and the bombers—together with the fighters—continued to strafe the Germans along the Rhenen-Wageningen road until they ran out of ammunition. The Dutch used artillery too, but its effectiveness was diminished by the old fear of hitting their own forces. The Germans would use artillery too, when their attack started late in the morning.
Jordan gained independence in 1946, but its first air bases had been set up in 1931 by the Royal Air Force. By 1950, Jordan began to develop a small air arm which came to be known as the Arab Legion Air Force (ALAF). The Royal Air Force assisted in training this small air arm and provided equipment. The ALAF's primary fighter was the de Havilland Vampire and a Vickers VC.1 Viking was operated as a VIP aircraft for use by the King of Jordan. By 1955 King Hussein realized the need for Jordan to have a more modern air force, and on 25 September 1955 the RJAF was established. By 1958 the Royal Air Force had left Jordan and the RJAF had taken control of the airfields in the country.
He joined the Royal Indian Air Force as a Fighter Pilot in the No. 1 Squadron, Indian Air Force. He fought against the Japanese Imperial Army in Burma during World War II, flying in a Hawker Hurricane fighter plane.
On 5 June 1984, two Saudi Arabian fighter pilots shot down two Iranian F-4 fighters. The Royal Saudi Air Force pilots were flying American-built F-15s and fired air-to-air missiles to bring down the Iranian planes. The Saudi fighter pilots had KC-135 aerial tanker planes and Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS surveillance planes assist in the encounter. The aerial fight occurred in Saudi airspace over the Persian Gulf near the Saudi island Al Arabiyah, about 60 miles northeast of Jubail.
The Air force In Vlore couldn't happen without the help of the soviet union, they were named Forcat Ushtarake Ajore Shqipetare, known as albanias people army air force. The first plane was the Yak-9 fighters donated by the soviet union. Many pilots had gone through training of the Yak-18 in the ussr and then they were taken to yoguslavia for more training of the Yak-3 planes before they were returned to Albania. The first pilot to fly in the Albanian forces is Petraq Polena born in Korca Albania. In 1955 the soviet union supplied 2 squadrons of jet fighters and with Mig-15UTI trainers. some of the aircraft are still used in today's Albania air force.
The term was used during the Battle of Britain, when Royal Air Force fighter pilots waited on the ground for Chain Home radar observations to detect oncoming enemy aircraft. Then, a telephone call would reach each fighter airfield (part of the Dowding system) and those air crews available would be scrambled. Every minute lost before takeoff would be advantageous to the enemy, as it could allow a pilot to gain extra height above the advancing plane formations.
The North Vietnamese Air Force (NVAF) received its first jet fighter aircraft, the MiG-17 in February 1964, but they were initially stationed at air bases on Mainland China, while their pilots were being trained. On 3 February 1964, the first fighter regiment No. 921 ("Trung đoàn Không quân Tiêm kích 921"), aka "Red Star squadron", was formed, and on 6 August it arrived from China in North Vietnam with its MiG-17s. On 7 September, the No. 923 fighter regiment, aka "Yen The Squadron", led by Lt. Col. Nguyen Phuc Trach, was formed. In May 1965, No. 16 bomber company ("Đại đội Không quân Ném bom 16") was formed with Il-28 twin engine bombers. Only one Il-28 sortie was flown in 1972 against Royal Laotian forces.
The North Vietnamese Air Force's first jet air-to-air engagement with US aircraft was on 3 April 1965. The NVAF claimed the shooting down of two US Navy F-8 Crusader, which was not confirmed by US sources, although they acknowledged having encountered MiGs. Consequently, 3 April became "North Vietnamese Air Force Day". On 4 April the VPAF (NVAF) scored the first confirmed victories to be acknowledged by both sides. The US fighter community was shocked when relatively slow, post-Korean era MiG-17 fighters shot down advanced F-105 Thunderchief fighters-bombers attacking the Thanh Hóa Bridge. The two downed F-105s were carrying their normal heavy bomb load, and were not able to react to their attackers.