Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's aerial warfare force. Formed toward the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world. Following victory over the Central Powers in 1918 the RAF emerged as, at the time, the largest air force in the world. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history, in particular, playing a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain.

The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed: to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government’s foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security." The RAF describe its mission statement as "... [to provide] An agile, adaptable and capable Air Force that, person for person, is second to none, and that makes a decisive air power contribution in support of the UK Defence Mission." The mission statement is supported by the RAF's definition of air power, which guides its strategy. Air power is defined as: "The ability to project power from the air and space to influence the behaviour of people or the course of events."

RAF (disambiguation)

RAF is the Royal Air Force, the air force of the United Kingdom.

RAF or Raf may also refer to:

Organizations

Military and paramilitary

People

Other

RAF-977

The RAF-977 was a Soviet (now Latvian) van made by Riga Autobus Factory (RAF) based on components from the GAZ-21 Volga. It was introduced in 1958 and was manufactured in two main styles: a 10-seat minibus and an ambulance. In 1961, an updated version called the RAF-977D was put into production; this had a one-piece windshield, instead of the split, and Volga steering wheel among its other detail changes. Variants included the 977I ambulance and a special Intourist model, which had better seats, roof lights, and sunroof.

The RAF 983, based on the 977, was a fire department vehicle.

The shortened RAF 978, powered by the Moskvitch 407's 45 hp (34 kW; 46 PS) 1,360 cc (83 cu in) engine, was not a success, in part because the engine lacked torque, and ride quality suffered due to the shortened wheelbase.

In 1969, it was replaced by the improved RAF-677DM. This had a wider passenger door and fewer but longer side windows (three on driver's side and two on passenger's, rather than five and three before). The ambulance now had the same number of windows, rather than fewer; it was now the 977IM, and the tourist variant was the 977EM.

FAI

Organizations

Fayón

Fayón (Spanish: [faˈʝon]) or Faió (Catalan: [fəˈjo], locally: [faˈjo]) is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 395 inhabitants. This town is located between the Ebro and the Matarranya rivers in La Franja area; the local dialect is a variant of Catalan.

History

Historically this town and its municipal term were considered part of the Matarranya, but presently it is included in the Bajo Aragón-Caspe/Baix Aragó-Casp comarca.

During the Battle of the Ebro some of the most bloody battles in the Spanish Civil War were fought in the Auts area, about 8 km north of Faió. On 25 July 1938 the 42 division of the Spanish Republican Army successfully crossed the river in this area but was surrounded and massacred in the Auts hills by the rebels.

Traditionally Fayón was part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lleida. In 1955 the Cesaraugustanae et aliarum decree of the Consistorial Congregation was published and on the 2d September of the same year, Fayón, along with Mequinensa was segregated from Lleida and merged with the Archdiocese of Zaragoza.

1999 FAI 1000

The 1999 FAI 1000 was an endurance race for V8 Supercars. The event was held on 14 November 1999 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and was the thirteenth and final round of the 1999 Shell Championship Series.

The race was the third running of the "Australia 1000", first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997. 1999 was the 37th consecutive year in which a touring car endurance race was held at the Mount Panorama Circuit and the event was the 43rd race that traces its lineage back to the 1960 Armstrong 500 held at Phillip Island.

Top ten shootout

Official results

Statistics

External links