Medicinal rhubarbs, as a purgative, are among the most important drug plants of all time.
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After all, Martin reasoned, such retaliation is a commonplace of baseball, with brushback rhubarbs happening almost weekly every season.
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When these missions involved two or three fighters, they were known as rhubarbs, and rodeos if they involved more than three aircraft.
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Chapter IV. Currawong. Wilkes, G. A. 1987. A Dictionary of Australian Colloquialisms. Fontana. Similar slang expressions in English include 'the boondocks'; 'the tall rhubarbs'; 'the sticks'; all implying remoteness and lack of sophistication.
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In January 1941 Deere was promoted to acting squadron leader and tasked as an operations room controller at Catterick. Due to weather conditions, flying was limited and No. 54 Squadron shifted back to Hornchurch in February. The squadron's role was now to conduct offensive sweeps, codenamed Rhubarbs, over France. Deere soon tired of his controller duties and sought a return to flying operations.
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The squadron formed on 2 March 1942 at RAF Church Fenton and then equipped with rocket armed Typhoons. It was soon involved in attacks on targets in France from the UK. On 18 April 1943 the squadron undertook a bombing raid on Yuinvale and again on 14 May at Tricqueville. During June 1943 the squadron undertook shipping reconnaissance missions and rhubarbs, as well as a bombing attack at Morlaix. July was also a busy month for shipping reconnaissance missions.
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According to the 2003 key in the Flora of China, this species is distinguished from other entire-leaved rhubarbs in China with leaves having a wavy or crisped margin; R. wittrockii, R. rhabarbarum, R. webbianum and R. hotaoense, by having less than 1cm-sized fruit, purple-red flowers, and the surface of the rachis of panicle being densely pubescent. It is the only rhubarb in this group to have purple-red flowers as opposed to various shades of white.
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According to the 2003 key in the Flora of China, this species is distinguished from other entire-leaved rhubarbs in China with leaves having a wavy or crisped margin; R. wittrockii, R. rhabarbarum, R. australe and R. hotaoense, by having less than 1 cm-sized fruit, yellow-white flowers, and a wider than long leaf blade with a reniform-cordate to cordate shape. In many characters, it is most similar to R. rhabarbarum and R. hotaoense.
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According to the 2003 key in the Flora of China, this species is distinguished from other entire-leaved rhubarbs in China with leaves having a wavy or crisped margin; R. wittrockii, R. webbianum, R. australe and R. hotaoense, by having less than 1 cm-sized fruit, yellow-white to greenish-white flowers, and the surface of the rachis of panicle covered in papilla. In many characters it is most similar to R. webbianum, and somewhat less so R. hotaoense.
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Richards 1995, pp. 118–119. The squadron mostly flew low-level attack sorties across the channel ("Rhubarbs" against ground targets and "Roadstead" attacks against shipping). The Whirlwind proved a match for German fighters at low level, as demonstrated on 6 August 1941, when four Whirlwinds on an anti- shipping strike were intercepted by a large formation of Messerschmitt Bf 109s and claimed three Bf 109s destroyed for no losses. A second Whirlwind squadron, 137, formed in September 1941, specialising in attacks against railway targets.
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The roots of Rheum officinale are used in traditional Chinese medicine. They are considered as a kind of "cold" herbs, used as a laxative in patients with constipation, sometimes accompanied by fever and even delirium. It is thought that rhubarbs can improve poor circulation, especially being helpful to remove bodily aggregates which result from poor circulation. In Chinese traditional medicine, R. officinale, in combination with a large variety of other herbs and modern medicine, has been used for the treatment of hepatitis B, although the results were found to be inconclusive.
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Spitfire Vb of Plt Off Antoni Głowacki of 303(Polish) Squadron based at Northolt in August 1942. In early 1941 the 11 Group commander Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh- Mallory inaugurated a policy of "leaning forward into France"Price 1996, p. 56. With this new policy, fighter sweeps ("Rhubarbs") and bomber escort missions ("Circuses") were mounted over France and other occupied territories, with the express purpose of forcing a response from Luftwaffe fighters. Leigh Mallory was fully supported by Air Chief Marshal Sir William Sholto Douglas who had replaced Sir Hugh Dowding as Commander of Fighter Command in November 1940.
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Joining the Royal Air Force as an aircraftman 2nd class (service number 1314695) in February 1941, he completed pilot training in the USA in Georgia, Alabama and Florida. From there he was posted to a training unit at Hawarden before joining No. 268 (Fighter) Squadron as a sergeant- pilot. He was commissioned as a pilot officer on 7 February 1942 with the RAF officer’s service number 120413 and was promoted to flying officer on 1 October 1942. Equipped with the North American P-51 Mustang, 268 Squadron flew "rhubarbs" (low level sweeps) to attack enemy shipping off the Dutch coast and ground targets such as troop transports and military railway freight.
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Ramrods were bomber sorties escorted by fighters, primarily intended to destroy a ground target and inflict losses by the escorts on German fighters trying to intervene. From December 1940 to June 1941, Fighter Command flew 104 Rhubarbs and eleven Circuses. In Bomber Command only 2 Group still flew day bombers and Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, beginning on 22 June, gave the group added significance. The withdrew its squadrons from coastal airfields to bases further inland, from where they could decline combat or engage RAF fighters in places where the British fighters were at a tactical disadvantage for lack of fuel.
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Following its victory in the Battle of Britain, 1940, Fighter Command began sending fighter squadrons over northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands to engage the . The policy was known as "Leaning forward into France" and begun by Air Chief Marshal Sholto Douglas, who had replaced Hugh Dowding as Air Officer Commanding in chief of Fighter Command on 25 November 1940. From December 1940, 11 Group flew Rhubarbs, raids by two or three fighters attacking targets of opportunity; Rodeos, fighter sweeps over enemy territory without bombers, which the usually ignored and Circuses, small numbers of bombers from 2 Group, escorted by large numbers of fighters. The objective of the operations was to attack ground targets, destroy any fighters which opposed the raids and keep them in Western Europe.
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