High Speed 2

High Speed 2 (HS2) is a planned high-speed railway in the United Kingdom linking London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester. It would be the second high-speed rail line in Britain, the first being the High Speed 1 line connecting London to the Channel Tunnel. The line is proposed to be built in a "Y" configuration in two phases, with construction work on the first phase set to begin in 2017, reach Birmingham by 2026, Crewe by 2027 and be completed in 2033.

Carlisle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, Newcastle, Preston and York will be linked to the network by HS2 trains running over existing, slower, tracks or edge-of-town HS2 stations.

Although Parliament has approved the first two phases of construction, precise details of the plan and route have not been formalised, and are still open to negotiation and change. For example, the spur to Heathrow airport was dropped from phases one and two in March 2015, while the Crewe Hub has been added to the scheme. In November 2015, Transport for the North (TfN) proposed a four-track trans-Pennine railway line, that would link with the HS2 line to London, and a new Liverpool-Manchester airport-Manchester railway line also linked to HS2. A feasibility study of the west to east rail line and its branches into HS2 will be published in March 2016.

HSC-12

Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 12 (HSC-12) Golden Falcons is a United States Navy helicopter squadron based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, in Japan. The Golden Falcons are attached to Carrier Air Wing Five with the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).

In early 2009, HS-2 Golden Falcons transitioned to MH-60S and re-designated as HSC-12.

Command History

Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Two was established on March 7, 1952 as the first Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopter squadron on the West Coast, flying the HRS-2. Initially used in small detachments, the first deployment as an entire squadron was made in 1957 when the world famous "Golden Falcons," flying the HSS-1, embarked aboard the aircraft carrier USS Philippine Sea (CVA-47). At this time, the squadron was manned by 258 enlisted and 39 officers to fly and maintain 17 aircraft. Since that time, the squadron has deployed on nine other carriers and currently with Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) with 190 enlisted, 22 officers and seven Sikorsky H-60 helicopters.