Indonesia was rocked by two separate disasters earlier this week - a 7.7-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami on Monday that swept onto the Mentawai Island chain in western Indonesia, and less than 24 hours later and a few hundred miles away, Mount Merapi erupted multiple times, unleashing searing pyroclastic flows that destroyed villages and blanketed the countryside in ash. Rescue personnel are only now reaching some of the more remote areas, but as of this writing, it is estimated that nearly 300 people were killed by the tsunami, and at least 30 died near Mount Merapi. Collected here are early photos from the dual disasters, and the rescue and recovery efforts just underway. ( 37 photos total

No. 303 Polish Squadron History

written by Wilhelm Ratuszynski



The unit began its formation in July 1940 in Blackpool. The flying personnel consisted of very experienced pilots of the 111 "Kosciuszko" and 112 "Warszawa" Eskadra of the Polish Air Force. Poles never really considered it a new unit, but a continuation of the squadron's history dating back to 1918. The unit was formally commanded by British Officers: S/Ldr Ronald Kellet CO, and F/Lt John Kent (Canadian) and F/Lt Athol Forbes, commanders of Flight "A" and "B" respectively. Their Polish counterparts were S/Ldr Krasnodebski with F/Lt Urbanowicz and F/Lt Opulski.

On August 2nd, the squadron moved to RAF Northolt - the name that became an integral part of the PAF history. Before the war Northolt rarely hosted operational units, being mostly used