Royal Air Force

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Report: Russian Pilot Tried to Shoot Down UK Military Jet

BBC reports 2 missiles were fired deliberately, not in a 'technical malfunction' as Russia claimed

(Newser) - A Russian pilot deliberately tried to shoot down a British plane last year, the BBC is reporting, contradicting Russia's claims of a "technical malfunction." The pilot fired two missiles at the Royal Air Force plane in international airspace over the Black Sea on Sept. 29, 2022. The...

Complex Operation Returns Sea Turtle From Wales to US

Gulf Stream carried rare Kemp's ridley sea turtle across the Atlantic in 2021

(Newser) - After all Tally has been through in the past couple of years, the VIP treatment she's receiving now seems only fair. The rare Kemp's ridley sea turtle washed up on Talacre Beach in north Wales in November 2021 after being carried over from Texas by the Gulf Stream....

Last 'Great Escape' Survivor Dies
Last 'Great Escape'
Survivor Dies
OBITUARY

Last 'Great Escape' Survivor Dies

Dick Churchill thought his name saved his life

(Newser) - The last of the Great Escapers has died. Dick Churchill, a British Royal Air Force veteran who took part in the famous 1944 mass escape from the Stalag Luft III POW camp, died earlier this month at his home in England, the New York Times reports. He was 99. The...

Message to ISIS on British Bomb Riles Internet

'Love From Manchester,' reads controversial note

(Newser) - A photo circulating online in the wake of the Manchester attack has sparked controversy, and the British Royal Air Force has confirmed it's indeed a real pic, CNN reports. The image, which started proliferating on Thursday, shows what appears to be a bomb with a written message on it...

UK Evacuates British Ebola Patient

Nation's first victim of virus was health worker in Sierra Leone

(Newser) - An RAF aircraft has left Sierra Leone today carrying a British citizen infected with Ebola, bound for treatment in an isolation unit in London's Royal Free Hospital, reports the BBC . London is confirming that a male patient was indeed infected, notes the AP ; he was a volunteer at a...

Prince William Quitting Job
 Prince William Quitting Job 

Prince William Quitting Job

No word on what he'll do next

(Newser) - Prince William has given his notice. The future king of England formally notified the Royal Air Force that he'll be leaving his position with the Search and Rescue Force, a military source confirms to Us . "William is ready to take on new challenges—as a royal and within...

Britain Flies 1M Euros to Troops in Cyprus

...in case the ATM machines stop working

(Newser) - How's this for a tangible sign of the banking mess in Cyprus: Britain's Royal Air Force is flying in a plane loaded with 1 million euros so its troops stationed there don't get stuck without cash, reports the Independent . The defense ministry made the move after the...

Prince William Rescues Girl
 Prince William Rescues Girl 

Prince William Rescues Girl

Go ahead, swoon

(Newser) - It's the stuff British schoolgirls' daydreams are made of: Prince William helped save a 16-year-old girl after she got stranded off the Welsh coast. Wills, an RAF search-and-rescue helicopter pilot, was sent on the mission after surfers saw the teen trying to help her struggling 13-year-old sister, E! reports....

Prince Harry in Calif. This Week for Training

'Capt. Wales' to be treated like any other pilot

(Newser) - Prince Harry will arrive in California this week but he won't be getting the red-carpet treatment his brother received earlier this year. The prince is coming to America for two months of helicopter gunship training at bases in California and Arizona, CNN reports. "He will be Captain Wales...

Helmet Lets Pilots Shoot Targets With a Glance

Turns out looks can kill

(Newser) - Equipped with new headgear, British fighter pilots can knock enemies from the sky with a mere gaze. The $390,000 Striker helmet shows pilots nearby radar-detected targets. The pilot merely looks at a target to choose it, then speaks to fire. It’s one of the biggest technological advances the...

Prince William to the Rescue!

Ladies warned not to call in bogus emergencies

(Newser) - Prince William can’t actually go to war like his younger brother Harry, so the future king is doing the next best thing: He’s joined the Royal Air Force’s search and rescue program, where he’ll pilot a Sea King rescue helicopter. “This is a very exciting,...

Churchill Ordered Air Force to Hide UFO Encounter

Were aliens checking us out during WWII?

(Newser) - Winston Churchill ordered the Royal Air Force to keep secret a suspected UFO encounter during World War II because he feared public hysteria and loss of religious faith, according to newly released documents. "This event should be immediately classified since it would create mass panic and destroy one's belief...

Brit Princes Yearn to See Front Lines

William, Harry living together during pilot training

(Newser) - Prince William is older, but Prince Harry went to war first—and, he says, “if Harry can do it then I can.” Harry, joining his brother at the media event yesterday, said his helicopter training is the “easiest way of getting to the front lines,” People...

Stolen RAF Files on Drug Use, Sex Spark Blackmail Fears

Data bares UK officers' foibles

(Newser) - Top British military officials are at risk of blackmail after three Royal Air Force hard drives containing revealing vetting details were stolen, the Daily Mail reports. Files on the drives told of “criminal investigations, drug abuse, use of prostitutes, and extra-marital affairs,” said a Ministry of Defense memo....

British Town Honors War Dead With Silent Farewells

Impromptu silence as soldier's hearse passed grew into tradition

(Newser) - A lone man's silent salute to a military hearse grew into a tradition that now involves thousands who line the streets of a small British town, the New York Times reports. The bodies of UK troops killed in Afghanistan pass through Wootton Bassett on the way from the nearby air...

British Military Blasted Over White Male Toy Soldiers

(Newser) - The British Defense Ministry is under fire for backing a new line of all-male toy soldiers, reports the Guardian.The promotional campaign for the new toys is also all-white. The figures were created with the help of senior officials from Britain's army, navy, and the Royal Air Force. They carry...

Brit Dog Walker Reported Close Encounter of the Alien Kind

1989 tale in recently released in UFO files

(Newser) - Another tale from the UK's recently released military files on UFOs comes from a dog-walker, who reports encountering an extraterrestrial who spoke in a Scandinavian accent. It was classified as a "genuine call" by a Royal Air Force phone operator, reports the Telegraph. The alien, appearing in human form...

'Naked Runway Challenge' in Prince Harry's Future

Harry will streak, William to drink from toilet

(Newser) - Princes William and Harry will engage in some undignified behavior in a bid to earn their “drinking wings” as they train to become helicopter pilots, the Sun reports. As part of the RAF's traditional initiation, William will drink beer out of a toilet, and Harry will run naked across...

Blinded Pilot Lands After Mid-Flight Stroke

Pilot recovering sight, but still in serious condition

(Newser) - An amateur pilot who suffered a stroke and went blind as he flew over North England landed his plane without a scratch, the Independent reports. Jim O’Neill, 65, was initially unable to follow instructions from civilian traffic controllers, but was guided to safety by British military planes. He remains...

Prince William Will Fly to the Rescue

Royal plans to be search and rescue pilot

(Newser) - Prince William’s next military stint  will be as a search-and-rescue pilot for the Royal Air Force, the BBC reports. Having served with the army and navy, the prince learned to fly with the RAP this year and said today, "I now want to build on the experience and...

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