58-694: The Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment (AFEE) was a branch of the British Air Ministry , that researched and developed non-traditional airborne applications, such as gliders, rotary wing aircraft, and dropping of personnel and equipment by parachute, in the period 1942–1950. On 15 February 1942, the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment was formed as a reorganisation of the Airborne Forces Establishment, that itself
116-814: A Cabinet Minister, and other political figures was intended to give the Air Board greater status than the Joint War Air Committee. In October 1916 the Air Board published its first report which was highly critical of the arrangements within the British air services. The report noted that although the Army authorities were ready and willing to provide information and take part in meetings, the Navy were often absent from Board meetings and frequently refused to provide information on naval aviation. In January 1917
174-880: A Flettner Fl 282 helicopter, and a Focke-Achgelis Fa 223 that had been delivered on 6 September 1945 in the first crossing of the English Channel by a helicopter. On 14 September 1950, AFEE was disbanded, and most of its equipment and personnel were transferred to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment at RAF Boscombe Down . Helicopter training functions were transferred to RAF Andover . J.A.J. Bennett, F. John Cable ('Jeep' Cable), Norman Coslett , John Norman Dennis, O.L.L. Fitzwilliams, Raoul Hafner , Sir Gordon Harvey, W.G. Jennings, Robert Kronfeld , C.H. Latimer-Needham , Lt. Col. Robert 'Bob' Smith, I.M. Little, Air Commodore Allen Wheeler OBE RAF, Peter R.D. Wilson. Air Ministry The Air Ministry
232-788: A glider across the English Channel , making a return flight the same day. For this he won £1000 from the Daily Mail Kronfeld was an Air Scout within the Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund and took part in the 4th World Scout Jamboree (1933) in Hungary as a member of the Austrian contingent. He participated in the Air Scout camp and contributed to the Airshow . He served as Commissioner for Air Scouts of
290-480: A glider of his own design, named Wien ("Vienna") , launched by bungee , near Ibbenbüren . After a flight lasting over five hours, he landed near Detmold , 102.5 km away. Kronfeld used the prize money to build a gigantic sailplane, named Austria , which had a wingspan of 30 metres - a record not to be matched until the end of the twentieth century. Kronfeld was awarded the Hindenburg Cup in 1930. In
348-665: A memorial stone, commemorating the first 100 km flight by Kronfeld in 1929, was erected by the Heimatverein am Hermannshöhenweg near Riesenbeck. In 1997 a memorial stone was erected on the Königsberg near Detmold (GPS 51° 55' N, 8° 53' E), where Kronfeld landed after his 100 km flight. The Robert-Kronfeld-Memorial Prize ( Robert-Kronfeld-Gedächtnispreis ) is awarded by the Segelflugschule Oerlinghausen, since 1979. "The-Robert-Kronfeld-Cup
406-690: A new air service be formed that would be on a level with the Army and Royal Navy . The new air service was to receive direction from a new ministry and on 29 November 1917 the Air Force Bill received Royal Assent and the Air Ministry was formed just over a month later on 2 January 1918. Lord Rothermere was appointed the first Air Minister . On 3 January, the Air Council was constituted as follows: The Air Ministry continued to meet in
464-534: A recreation of the now disbanded Royal Naval Air Service . This negotiation led to the creation of RAF Coastal Area the predecessor of RAF Coastal Command to deal with its relationship with the Navy. Throughout 1919 there were discussions between Sir Hugh Trenchard Chief of the Air Staff and Sir Rosslyn Wemyss First Sea Lord as to the nature of the relationship between the Air Force and Air Ministry and
522-582: A special cachet was issued commemorating this flight. In 1994 a special cachet was issued commemorating Robert Kronfeld's 90th Birthday. Robert Kronfeld was commemorated in an exhibition in the National Scout Center of the Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund in Vienna in September 2010 and stamp and special cachet were issued. An Air Scout group of the Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund in
580-546: A test-pilot for Georgii, investigating this still-new phenomenon with the assistance of a variometer disguised as a vacuum flask . In 1926, the German newspaper Grüne Post offered a RM 5,000 prize for the first glider pilot to fly 100 km (62 mi). Kronfeld took up the challenge in 1929 and selected a long chain of hills, the Teutoburger Wald , as a promising site for the record attempt. He took off in
638-892: The Focke-Achgelis Fa 330 'kite' autogiro. On 4 January 1945, the whole of the AFEE was relocated to RAF Beaulieu , that had been vacated by USAAF bomber units. It joined an existing detachment there of its A Flight, and AFEE came under control of RAF No. 43 Group. The adjacent former airfield at East Boldre was used as a dropping zone. Activities included specialist training of pilots for helicopters and gliders. Types tested included gliders AW.52 , GAL.55 , GAL.56 , GAL.61, Waco CG-13 , plus helicopters Bristol 171 , Cierva W.14 Skeeter , Cierva Air Horse , Sikorsky Hoverfly . Additional support aircraft included Boston, Cierva C.40 , Curtiss Commando, Dragonfly, Harvard, Hastings, Lancaster, Valetta. Captured types tested at Beaulieu included
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#1732791250321696-608: The Ministry of Aviation (1959–67) and finally the Ministry of Technology (1967–70). In the 1920s and early 1930s research and development was more than 20% of the Air Ministry’s total expenditure on aircraft and equipment, making it the largest research and development spending institution in Britain, until it was outstripped by private industry in the later 1930s. The Air Ministry was responsible for weather forecasting over
754-570: The Ministry of Munitions , some of the problems of inter-service competition were avoided. The Air Board initially met in the Hotel Cecil on the Strand , familiarly known as the "Hotel Bolo". This was a humorous reference to Bolo Pasha (shot for treason in 1918 by the French government) whose attempts to undermine the French war effort with German-funded newspaper propaganda were likened to
812-499: The Prime Minister David Lloyd George replaced the chairman Lord Curzon with Lord Cowdray . Godfrey Paine , who served in the newly created post of Fifth Sea Lord and Director of Naval Aviation, sat on the board and this high level representation from the Navy helped to improve matters. Additionally, as responsibility for the design of aircraft had been moved out of single service hands and given to
870-911: The United Kingdom . In 1934 he was awarded the Silver medal of the Lilienthal Society. There, he continued flying, taking over the British Aircraft Company , and in 1938 became chief instructor for the newly founded Oxford University and City Gliding Club (now split up in the Oxford University Gliding Club and the separate Oxford Gliding Club ). He settled in England in January 1938 and his father followed him to England in 1939. Kronfeld
928-444: The 1960s was named after Robert Kronfeld. The sole surviving Kronfeld Drone de Luxe, G-AEKV, built in 1936, is preserved at Brooklands Museum , Surrey, UK. Acquired by Mike Beach in the early 1980s and restored to flying condition at Brooklands around 1984, 'KV was later purchased by Brooklands Museum with the support of a Heritage Lottery Fund grant and is kept in ground running condition. An orchard in memory of Robert and his son
986-841: The Air Ministry rather than being dealt with by either the Board of Trade or the Foreign Office. The Army and the War Office had largely agreed to the continued existence of the RAF due, in part, to the enthusiasm for the air service by the Army's political leader Winston Churchill. However, one of the main difficulties for the RAF and Air Ministry in 1919 was the opposition by the Royal Navy to losing their own air service and subsequent lobbying that personnel for naval air purposes afloat be naval officers and ratings – this would have led to
1044-546: The Air Ministry. He was interested in developing air links to the Empire and Dominion countries, particularly India and South Africa. He negotiated a subsidy from the Treasury for Imperial Airways to start a service from Cairo to India. Hoare, with his wife Lady Maud, flew on the inaugural 13-day flight to Delhi, leaving Croydon on 26 December 1926 and arriving on 8 January 1927. The air route to Cape Town, after much negotiation,
1102-635: The Committee was not particularly effective. The increasing separation of army and naval aviation from 1912 to 1914 only exacerbated the Air Committee's ineffectiveness and the Committee did not meet after the outbreak of the First World War . By 1916 the lack of co-ordination of the Army 's Royal Flying Corps and the Navy 's Royal Naval Air Service had led to serious problems, not only in
1160-598: The Gibraltar barrage , radar , Window , heavy water , and the German nightfighters " ( R.V. Jones ). Other World War II technology and warfare efforts included the branch's V-1 and V-2 Intelligence activities. In 1964 the Air Ministry merged with the Admiralty and the War Office to form the Ministry of Defence . Robert Kronfeld Squadron Leader Robert Kronfeld , AFC (5 May 1904 – 12 February 1948)
1218-557: The Hotel Cecil on the Strand. Later, in 1919, it moved to Adastral House on Kingsway . The creation of the Air Ministry resulted in the disestablishment of the Army Council 's post of Director-General of Military Aeronautics. In 1919 the RAF and the Air Ministry came under immense political and inter service pressure for their very existence, particularly in a climate of significantly reduced military expenditure. The battle
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#17327912503211276-566: The I.T.P. contract papers for a Wolseley radial aero engine, which would have required re-orientation of their offices with an army of chartered accountants, he decided to deal only with the War Office and the Admiralty, not the Air Ministry. So the aero engine project was abandoned in 1936, see Airspeed . Nevil Shute Norway wrote that the loss of such a technically advanced engine was a great loss to Britain as well as Airspeed, and blamed
1334-415: The Joint War Air Committee, and its chairman was Lord Derby . It was also at the meeting on 15 February that Lord Curzon proposed the creation of an Air Ministry. As with the pre-war Air Committee, the Joint War Air Committee lacked any executive powers and therefore was not effective. After only eight sittings, Lord Derby resigned from the Committee, stating that "It appears to me quite impossible to bring
1392-519: The Navy and the Admiralty. In 1919 the Air Ministry formally took control of supply, design and inspection of all aircraft (aeroplanes and airships) from the Ministry of Munitions. This helped put the existence of Air Ministry on a firmer footing. Throughout 1919 Churchill persistently supported an independent air force. He presented the White Paper, largely written by Sir Hugh Trenchard , on
1450-534: The Rotabuggy took place mostly in 1943, but its planned role was taken over by the development of heavy gliders. In the period 1942–1944, trials of rotary wing and parachute developments were conducted at Ringway, Sherburn-in-Elmet and during detachments to various other airfields, such as RAF Snaith, RAF Chelveston , RAF Newmarket , RAF Riccall, RAF Burn , RAF Hartford Bridge , RAF Farnborough and RAF Beaulieu . A large and varied fleet of powered support aircraft
1508-599: The Rotachute began in early 1942, towed firstly behind ground vehicles, then behind aircraft. The original concept proved difficult to achieve with safety and stability, but flights continued to help research flight characteristics for a follow-on project, the Hafner Rotabuggy , an air-towed land vehicle with autogiro capabilities. On 1 July 1942, because of intensive activity at Ringway, AFEE moved to RAF Sherburn-in-Elmet , as part of RAF No. 21 Group. Development of
1566-595: The UK, from 1919 it being the government department responsible for the Meteorological Office . As a result of the need for weather information for aviation, the Meteorological Office located many of its observation and data collection points on RAF stations . In the 1930s, the Air Ministry commissioned a scientific study of propagating electromagnetic energy which concluded that a death ray
1624-685: The Universities. The Air Ministry was also responsible for civil aviation. Early on Hoare set up the Civil Air Transport Subsidies Committee under the Chairmanship of Sir Hubert Hambling to look at the system of subsidies to competing air lines. They reported in February 1923, favouring a single commercial company to run Britain's air routes. In March 1924 Imperial Airways was created from a merger of
1682-544: The air force's institutional independence in the face of hostile attacks from the War Office and the Admiralty". More importantly in the long term he was also responsible for the appointment of Sir Sefton Brancker to develop civil aviation. With the fall of Lloyd George Sir Samuel Hoare became the Secretary of State for Air in October 1922 under Bonar Law . On Law's death Stanley Baldwin became Prime Minister and gave
1740-463: The aircraft and glider 30 nautical miles off course. Nevertheless, Kronfeld was determined to make the attempt and they managed to fix their position at 2,000 feet above St Bees Head and re-planned a crossing to Maughold Head . The weather resulted in the aircraft and glider descending to only 50 feet above the sea and a further problem was being caused by reducing visibility and the approaching darkness. The sea crossing took 1 hour 50 minutes. Due to
1798-522: The four largest airlines. The third aspect of Hoare's time at the Air Ministry (after the R.A.F. and civil airlines) was to make public opinion sympathetic to air power and air travel. His much publicised flight to India in 1926-7 was part of this. He also realised the importance of the Schneider Trophy and was instrumental in making sure that the R.A.F was involved. Britain's winning entries in 1927, 1929 and 1931 were flown by R.A.F. pilots and
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1856-485: The future of the RAF on 12 December 1919. It was this White Paper that was to be the effective charter for the RAF and Air Ministry in subsequent years. In February 1921 Lloyd George appointed Churchill to the Colonial Office and appointed his Chief Whip, Frederick Guest as Secretary of State for Air on 1 April. During his eighteen months in office he played "a minor part in the desperate struggle to maintain
1914-514: The idea of a university air officer training corps, a sort of Territorial Army for the R.A.F. Hoare and particularly his well connected Parliamentary Private Secretary the academic Sir Geoffrey Butler, then created University Air Squadrons , at Cambridge University then at Oxford University in October 1925, without, however the militarism of the Officer Training Corps and in close collaboration with scientific and engineering work of
1972-408: The original planned point in order to make the crossing to Ronaldsway Airport , Isle of Man . However, with an airspeed of 65 knots flying into a 50 knot head wind resulting in a groundspeed of 15 knots , it was difficult to make concerted progress and at one point Lacayo suggested abandoning the attempt. The wind was causing significant problems in addition to lowering cloud and had blown
2030-419: The over-cautious high civil servants of the Air Ministry. When he had asked Lord Nuffield to retain the engine, Nuffield said: I tell you, Norway ... I sent that I.T.P. thing back to them, and I told them they could put it where the monkey put the nuts! In later years the actual production of aircraft was the responsibility of the Ministry of Aircraft Production (1940–46), the Ministry of Supply (1946–59),
2088-736: The position Cabinet status in May 1923, and Hoare remained in the post until January 1924, when a Labour government took power. Lord Thomson was made Secretary of State for Air. A supporter of airships, Thomson was responsible for the Imperial Airship Scheme , which involved the construction of R101 at the Royal Airship Works at Cardington. After the fall of the MacDonald government in November 1924 Hoare returned to
2146-401: The procurement of aircraft engines, but also in the air defence of Great Britain. It was the supply problems to which an attempt at rectification was first made. The War Committee meeting on 15 February 1916 decided immediately to establish a standing joint naval and military committee to co-ordinate both the design and the supply of materiel for the two air services. This committee was titled
2204-471: The same year he undertook the first flight from a mountain in Lower Austria . He also staged large air shows. By 1930 he held the world records for distance (164 km) and height (2,589 m). In 1930 he also had success gliding in England. On 15 February 1931 Robert Kronfeld and Wolf Hirth were the first men awarded the " Silver C ". On 20 June 1931 Kronfeld was the first pilot to fly
2262-477: The teams partially subsidised by the Air Ministry. The Air Ministry issued specifications for aircraft that British aircraft companies would supply prototypes to. These were then assessed, if ordered the Ministry assigned the aircraft name. (see List of Air Ministry specifications ). The ordering procedure used I.T.P. (Intention to Proceed) contract papers; these specified a maximum fixed price, which could (after investigation) be less. But when Lord Nuffield got
2320-539: The two wings closer together ... unless and until the whole system of the Air Service is changed and they are amalgamated into one service." The Joint War Air Committee was composed as follows: Advisory Members were also appointed as required. The next attempt to establish effective co-ordination between the two air services was the creation of an Air Board. The first Air Board came into being on 15 May 1916 with Lord Curzon as its chairman. The inclusion of Curzon,
2378-617: The unhelpful rivalry between the RFC and the RNAS. Despite attempts at reorganization of the Air Board, the earlier problems failed to be completely resolved. In addition, the growing number of German air raids against Great Britain led to public disquiet and increasing demands for something to be done. As a result, Lloyd George , the British Prime Minister, established a committee composed of himself and General Jan Smuts , which
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2436-423: The weather conditions a landing at Ronaldsway Airport could not be made and this resulted in them diverting to Hall Caine Airport , touching down at 20:00hrs. On Tuesday 7 June, Kronfeld gave an exhibition of aerobatics over Ronaldsway as a feature of the 1938 Manx Air Derby . In 1933, the new Nazi government prohibited Jews from flying, and as a Jew, Kronfeld fled Germany first for Austria , later for
2494-491: The Österreichischer Pfadfinderbund. Kronfeld also was an honorary member of this Scout association. In addition to being the first person to pilot a glider across the English Channel , on Saturday 4 June 1938, Kronfeld became the first pilot to fly a towed glider across the Irish Sea . Under tow from an Avro Cadet piloted by Mark Lacayo , they departed Kirby Moorside , Yorkshire , proceeding westwards via Blackpool
2552-522: Was boating . As a young man, he visited the Wasserkuppe in Germany and became passionate about the sport of gliding that was developing there. So Kronfeld became a member of the first Austrian gliding school. He befriended Walter Georgii , who was a meteorologist working at the nearby Darmstadt University of Technology and who had recently discovered thermals . Kronfeld became something of
2610-468: Was a Cabinet position, and Secretary of State for Air both of which he accepted. This combination under one person by was criticised in both the press and Parliament. However, Churchill re-iterated that the continued "integrity, the unity, the independence of the Royal Air Force will be sedulously and carefully maintained". During 1919 it was also decided that civil aviation was to be brought into
2668-707: Was a September 1941 renaming of the Central Landing Establishment . The AFEE was initially based at RAF Ringway as part of No. 70 Group RAF , with two flying units, A Flight and B Flight. At Ringway, one of the existing projects was the Hafner Rotachute , a rotor kite (unpowered autogiro) that was planned to deliver an armed soldier to a battlefield more accurately and reliably than conventional parachute methods. During 1941, unmanned models had already completed ground-based tests plus some releases from aircraft in flight. Manned trials of
2726-718: Was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force , that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State for Air . On 13 April 1912, less than two weeks after the creation of the Royal Flying Corps (which initially consisted of both a naval and a military wing), an Air Committee
2784-470: Was a member of the Österreichischer Aero Club and brought the records of this association to the United Kingdom. In 1939 he became a British citizen and during World War II he served in the Royal Air Force . He held the rank of Squadron Leader . He was posted to the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment on military glider development. For that work he was awarded the Air Force Cross . Post war, as Chief Test Pilot for General Aircraft , he
2842-439: Was an Austrian -born gliding champion and sailplane designer of the 1920s and 30s. He became a British subject and an RAF test pilot. He was killed testing a glider in 1948. Kronfeld was born in Vienna , the son of dentist also called Robert Kronfeld (1874–1946), who was nephew of Adolf Kronfeld (de) (doctor, writer), Ernst Moriz Kronfeld (de) (botanist), both Galician Jews . In his youth his favourite sport
2900-434: Was awarded by the State Government of Austria on the occasion of the 21st World Gliding Championships 1989 in Wiener Neustadt ." It is also named The Robert Kronfeld Challenge Cup. There is also a Robert Kronfeld-contest ( Robert-Kronfeld-Wettbewerb ) organized by the Segelflugschule Oerlinghausen . In 1961 the Robert Kronfeld Memorial flight from Innsbruck to Kufstein ( Kronfeld-Gedächnissegelflug ) took place and
2958-416: Was established to act as an intermediary between the Admiralty and the War Office in matters relating to aviation. The new Air Committee was composed of representatives of the two war ministries, and although it could make recommendations, it lacked executive authority. The recommendations of the Air Committee had to be ratified by the Admiralty Board and the Imperial General Staff and, in consequence,
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#17327912503213016-412: Was finalised in 1929, before he left office, but only commenced in 1932. His time at the Air Ministry was marked by several important developments that were to confirm the status of the Royal Air Force as a separate entity, play a part in the growth of civil aviation and to develop the awareness of the public about aviation. An early priority for Sir Hugh Trenchard , Chief of the Air Staff 1919–1930,
3074-416: Was impractical but detection of aircraft appeared feasible. Robert Watson-Watt demonstrated a working prototype and patented the device in 1935 (British Patent GB593017). The device served as the base for the Chain Home network of radars to defend Great Britain. By April 1944, the ministry's air Intelligence branch had succeeded in its intelligence efforts regarding " the beams , the Bruneval Raid ,
3132-422: Was kickstarted by the resignation in December 1918 of William Weir the President of the Air Council (the governing body of the Royal Air Force), who wished to return to his commercial activities. This led the Prime Minister, Lloyd George , to create a Secretary of State for Air , but not as a Cabinet position, and on 9 January 1919 offered Winston Churchill the two posts of Secretary of State for War , which
3190-645: Was killed in the crash of an experimental flying wing glider - the General Aircraft GAL 56 ( TS507 ) - during stalling trials , at Lower Froyle after taking-off from Lasham Airfield . After successfully recovering from a stall, the aircraft entered an inverted dive. His observer was able to leave the aircraft and survived despite a low level parachute opening. There are streets named after Robert Kronfeld in Detmold ( Robert-Kronfeld-Straße ), Fulda ( Robert-Kronfeld-Straße ), Oerlinghausen ( Robert-Kronfeld-Straße ), Gerasdorf ( Kronfeldgasse), Graz ( Kronfeldgasse) and Vienna ( Kronfeldgasse ). In 1990
3248-425: Was tasked with investigating the problems with the British air defences and organizational difficulties which had beset the Air Board. Towards the end of the First World War, on 17 August 1917, General Smuts presented a report to the War Council on the future of air power. Because of its potential for the 'devastation of enemy lands and the destruction of industrial and populous centres on a vast scale', he recommended
3306-414: Was to establish the officer cadet training college at Cranwell as a permanent establishment. It was Hoare's job to negotiate with the Treasury for the necessary funds. After much resistance Hoare managed to include a provision for permanent buildings in his estimates for 1929. The foundation stone of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell was laid in 1929 and formally opened in 1934. Trenchard had conceived
3364-452: Was used, mostly for parachute-dropping and glider-towing. Those included examples of Bombay, Dakota, Halifax, Hector, Heyford, Hudson, Lysander, Manchester, Martinet, Master, Mitchell, Mosquito, Overstrand, Spitfire, Stirling, Tiger Moth, Warwick, Wellington, Whitley, Wildcat. Gliders tested included Baynes Bat , Hamilcar, Hengist , Horsa, Hotspur and Twin Hotspur. AFEE also conducted testing of captured rotary wing aircraft, such as examples of
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