Hurricane replica for Windsor anniversary celebration
Later this year, the Yorkshire Air Museum’s full-size replica of the Hawker Hurricane fighter, workhorse of the Battle of Britain, will be transported to Windsor Castle, where it will form a centrepiece display for the Windsor Tattoo, which takes place May 12-15. Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the achievement of the Hurricane’s designer, Sir Sidney Camm, the display also supports a campaign instigated by Camm’s only grandchild, Elizabeth Dickson, to establish a scholarship fund to mark Camm’s achievements at Hawker. At one time during the 1930s eight out of ten aircraft serving in the RAF were designed by him, including the Hawker Hart, Hind and Fury, and in the postwar period he designed one of the RAF’s most successful jet fighters, the Hawker Hunter. Emerging from Camm’s drawing board in 1934, the Hurricane accounted for 80 per cent of the German aircraft shot down by the RAF in the Battle of Britain.
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RN and RFA ships honoured for anti-piracy work
Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary crews have been honoured by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for their work to suppress piracy off the coast of Somalia over the past year. At a ceremony at IMO headquarters in London Commander Tim Henry, captain of the Type 23 frigate Portland, accepted certificates for “exceptional services rendered to shipping and mankind” on behalf of RN and RFA vessels undertaking counter-piracy operations. Some 16 RN and RFA ships received awards, as did the commanding officers of ships from a number of navies from around the world.
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Robot to tackle Afghanistan roadside bombs
A high-tech robot, the Dragon Runner, which will enhance the capacity of bomb-disposal experts to detect and deactivate improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the front line, has begun service in Afghanistan. Around 100 of the Runners will provide troops with a lightweight, backpackable, multi-terrain device able to detect IEDs without putting their operators in harm’s way. Equipped with onboard cameras to relay pictures back to its operator, the Dragon Runner can lay charges alongside suspect devices and destroy them.
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Afghan police chiefs see UK training facilities
Four senior members of the Afghan National Police in Helmand have been spending time in the UK studying the training that British forces receive before they are deployed to Afghanistan to mentor their own men. The highlight of the visit was a trip to the Stanford Training Area at Thetford, Norfolk, where an Afghan replica village has been set up to help British soldiers adjust to the different environment of such communities in Helmand. Colonal Asad Ullah Sherzad, Helmand Provincial Chief of Police said: “On this training area everything is real, everything looks like it does in Helmand. I want to thank everyone who put this training together to prepare British forces for how to deal in the culture of Afghan people.”