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Foirey Swordfish
More than any other aircraft, the
Swordfish typifies the heroism of the
Fleec Air Arm in WW2. Of course,
this fabric-covered biplane torpedo
bomber, first flown in April 1934 and
which came into use with the Fleet
AirArm in l936,was outmoded
when war brol<e out, but this made
its feats all the more notable.The
most famous Swordfish exploits are
well-l<nown, but worth repeating
in November 1940, 2l aircraft
-flying from HMS lllustrious inflicted
serious damage on ltalian Navy
ships atTaranto,while a May
I 94 I strike launched from Ark
Royo/ and Victorious disabled the
German battleship Bismorck
and rendered its destruction
all but unavoidable. February
1942's'Channel Dash' attacl< on
German warships, during which
all six Swordfish involved were
shot down, showed the type's vulnerability,
but it continued to prove most effective, especially in the anti-submarine
role. Shown here are just four of the 2,392 Swordfish produced, these aircraft, photographed in 1942,
hailing from 785 Squadron at Crail.
Supermorine Spitfire
Surely, the Spitfire is the mosr famous British aircraft of
them all. Few other fighters can match its undisputed
beauty, nor its symbolism, not to mention its service record.
The last Griffon-engined F24s produced afterWW2 were
very, very different beasts to the initial Merlin-powered
prototype that flew from Eastleigh on 5 March 1936, so
far-reaching was the development that proved possible of
R.J. Mitchell's original design, and the starisrics tell their own
story.A Spitfire l, as flown by the RAF early in the war, had
l,030hp at its disposal, a top speed of 355mph and weighed
5,3321b; a Spitfire F24 developed 2,050hp, could reach
454mph and weighed 9,900lb.When rhe rype arrived with
No l9 Squadron at Duxford during l938,it was far from
being the outstanding fighter it later became, but problems
were soon ironed out and successive marl<s proved more
than a match for the Luftwaffe's
Bfl09s and,thanks to further
development, Fw 190s. Serving in
all theatres, and in roles such as
ground attack, army co-operation
and photo recce as well as being a
fighter, the Spitfire's place in history
was assured.The three aircraft
pictured on an interception patrol
overTunisia in early 1943 are
led by the'personal' SpitfireVb
(AB502) ofWg Cdr lan Gleed,
CO of 244Wing.

lin A/tan lrb,ary

 ,,.,,;:;,;;,;,,,;,;;:
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Hqwker Hurricone Vickers Wellington

At the time of its maiden flight, from At the start of WW2, in the absence of four-engined equipment,
Brool<lands on 6 November 1935, Hawl<er's theWellington spearheaded RAF Bomber Command's initial
new monoplane fighter offered a quantum daylight offensive against Germany.As casualties mounted, it
leap over the RAFs biplanes, but by its became clear that a switch to night operations was desirable,
service entry with No I I I Squadron in andWellingtons were able to mal<e a much more effective
December 1937 (some of 'Treble One's' contribution to the war effort. Notable about the Wellington, the
Hurricanes are shown in the accompanying inaugural flight of which occurred in June 1936, was the use of
image from 1938) it was already clear that the geodetic construction method devised by BarnesWallis,the
the Spitfire would surpass its performance. immensely strong metal 'latticework' meaning that the aircraft
Nonetheless, the Hurricane's conservative could survive battle damage that would have downed many
construction and excellent flying other types. Production, which totalled over I 1,000, continued
characteristics offered advantages it was throughout hostilities, and especially notable variants of the
-
easier and quicker to produce, hence the basic bomber marl<s (which tool< in aircraft using a variety of
type's numerical superiority at the time powerplants, mainly including the Bristol Pegasus, Rolls-Royce
t,r) of the Battle of Britain, it could take a lot Merlin and Bristol Hercules) included radar-equipped derivatives
d
,l of punishment,was easy to maintain and for Coastal Command.
proved a splendidly stable gun platform
for such roles as army co-operation and
ground attack. Perhaps outdated as a day
fighter by the end of I 940, Hurricanes then
gave outstanding service as night fighters,
fighter-bombers and cannon-armed ground
attack aircraft. Rarely has an aircraft been
more unfairly overlooked in favour of
another than the Hurricane in relation to
the Spitfire, but this will never diminish the
contribution the Hawker aircraft made to
the Allied victory.
 Short Sunderlond
Short Brothers became famed for its flying boats during
the inter-war years. lts C-Class, or Empire, flying boats built
for lmperial Airways were designed to linl< Britain and the
colonies, carrying passengers and mail, and from the first of
them, the S23, was born a new machine for the RAF. Firsr
taking to the air on l6 October 1937 (the aircraft shown here,
K4774,was the first prototype), the Sunderland came into
service the following summer. lt was a Sunderland that carried
out Coastal Command\ first U-boat sinl<ing, and the aircraft
performed outstandingly in all its roles anti-submarine
warfare, rescue, convoy escort, transport- and more. But
although remaining Sunderland squadrons were very active
in the Berlin Airlift and KoreanWar, the age of the RAF flying
boats soon drew to a close.When No 205 Squadron at Seletar,
Singapore, retired its last two Sunderlands in May 1959, an era
truly ended.
S.r'

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Brislol Beoufighter
The Beaufighter's predecessor
the Bristol
as a night fighter,
Blenheim, fought stoically in the
early years of WW2 but was
really too slow and vulnerable.
The Beaufighter addressed both
of these shortcomings. lts first
flight was on l7 July 1939, and
the Beaufighter lf was ready for
service entry in the late summer
of I 940, taking advantage of
the newly-developed Airborne
lnterception (Al) radar and posing
Ar.a'o. '-.o^."o_
a potent threat to Luftwaffe night
raiders.Yet it was also effective as
a day fighter in theWestern Desert
Hondley Poge Hqlifqx and the Mediterranean, and as a
long-range fighter with Coastal Command.
Production of the Halifax and its supply to squadrons were hastened by the The latter later also employed rocket and
urgent need for four-engined heavy bombers after the outbreak of hostilities. torpedo-armed BeaufighterVls and Xs to
The first prototype's inaugural flight took place on 25 October 1939; it great effect. lt was, meanwhile, in the Far
was followed by the first production example just under a year later, and East where the exploits of Beaufighters
No 35 Squadron received initial deliveries in November 1940. March 194 I gained the type its best-l<nown nickname,
saw Halifaxes becoming the first four-engined RAF aircraft to bomb targets the Japanese dubbing it the'Whispering
in Germany, and, along with the Lancaster, the type was at the forefront of Death'.A total of 52 RAF squadrons flew
Bomber Command's offensive for the rest of the war, both in Merlin and Beaufighters; the rocket-equipped aircraft in
Hercules-powered versions. However,the Halifax also earned its spurs within the accompanying image hailed from No 30
Coastal Command and as a glider tug,amongst other specialised roles. In Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force.
peacetime, ex-RAF examples became civilian workhorses on the Berlin Airlift.
 Howker Typhoon
The Typhoon got off to something of a 'false
start' in service. lntended as a standard fighter,
and first flown on 24 February 1940, it tool<
some time for production machines to become
available.When they did, initially to No 56
Squadron at Duxford in August-September
I 94 I, they or, rather, the type's Napier Sabre
engine
-
proved highly troublesome.
-
The advantages of having 400mph
performance in an RAF fighter for the
first time were negated by the Sabres
lacl< of reliability and poor high-altitude
performance. But things got better as
time went on, and using the Typhoon
as a fighter-bomber and ground attacl<
aircraft proved far more successful.
Typhoons played a substantial part
in theAllied offensive across Europe
before and after D-Day, later armed
with bombs of up to 2,0001b and q
rocl<ets. lt did not last long in service {l
in fact, not beyond I 945 but
-theTyphoon had -
proved a classic
example of mal<ing a sill< purse
{ t,,'tt'*
out of a sow's ear. Being refuelled
and re-armed in the photo is an lili,::
Sriiii
'.. ii. 1'l:'1':
invasion-striped No 257 Squadron
n .l;i,
airc raft. Itjirlit'
de Hqvillond Mosquilo
It is surprising how many great
aeroplanes began as private ventures,the
Mosquito being one such.An all-wooden
light bomber whose speed would be
its only defensive weapon might have
seemed an odd concept, but the aircraft!
qualities soon struck home when the
first example, which took to the air
from Hatfield on 25 November 1940, Aviatron images
com
was demonstrated. lts Merlin-engined
performance was astounding, and more
than .justified the initial RAF order placed Avro lqncoster
earlier that year.Just a year later, No 105
Squadron took on its initial Mosquito lVs. Had theAvro Manchester been a success,there mightwell have been no Lancaster.
This was a true'multi-role' aircraft As it was, the twin-engined, Rolls-RoyceVulture-powered Manchester was a disaster,
before the term entered common so it was back to the drawing board forAvrol design team headed by Roy Chadwick.
usage as a bomber, it tormented the With its four proven Merlins, the Lancaster was rid of most of the problems that
-
Luftwaffe with its pace and agility at high beset its predecessor, and 7,377 would go on to be built, beginning with a prototype
and low levels, could carry bombs up to that flew on 9 January 194 l. No 44 Squadron atWaddington became the first
and including the 4,0001b'blockbuster', Lancaster operator in early 1942, followed by No 97 Squadron, and their low-level
and was famed for the pinpoint attacks daylight raid on the MAN Diesel works inAugsburg that March was the first of the
it could prosecute, but the Mosquito, of heroic exploits by'Lancs' and their crews.There followed August 19421 first ever
which more than 7,700 were produced, Pathfinder Force operation,the attack on the Mohne and Eder dams by No 617
was also an outstanding night fighter, Squadron in May 1943, and the sinking of the Tirpitz in November l944,to name but
target-marker, anti-shipping strikb three. By the end of the war, I 0 Lancaster crew members had been awarded the
platform and photo recce aircraft. ln the Victoria Cross, and the aircraft itself had been developed to carry bombs as large as
photo can be seen two Mosquito lVs of the 22,0001b'Grand Slam'. Some enjoyed a productive second career with Coastal
No 105 Squadron. Command, soldiering on until I 954, while the Royal Canadian Air Force kept its
maritime patrollers up to 1963.

w vt vt. a i r c r a ftut a g a z i n e - c a. u k
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Glosiet Meleor
Two'firsts' were achieved by the Meteor it was the RAF's
-
first jet aircraft, and the first (and only) Allied jet that saw accion
before the end ofWW2.The experimental Gloster E28l39 had
helped prove the concept of a British jet aircraft when it began
tests in l94l,though the Meteor would be a very different beast,
requiring the extra power of a twin configuration. Numerous
powerplants were used, the first of the F9l40 prototypes to fly,
on 5 March 1943, using Halford H ls, though the Rolls-Royce
Welland I equipped the Meteor ls that entered service with Swiss i{d
No 616 Squadron in july l944.These aircraft began by being used
againstV I flying bombs, downing I 3 of them. From the improved de Hovillond Vqmpire
Meteor lll onwards, the Rolls-Royce Derwent became the type's
standard engine, this being gradually uprated for the major F4 Although it flew not long after the Meteor, in September 1943,
and F8 production single-seaters, and variants thereof such as the theVampire Fl had to wait until the war was over ro starr irs
NFI I to NFl4 night fighters. Meanwhile,theTT had become the operational RAF service, doing so with No 247 Squadron.The
RAF's first jet trainer upon service entry in I 948, reflecting the F I and F3 variants did not last long before being superseded

onward march of the jet. lt was also flown by l6 overseas nations.
The aircraft in the photo is Meteor F8YZ440,the first of that
marl< to go to the RAF, specifically No 43 Squadron,
in August 1949.
by the FB5 fighter-bomber,which became the most numerous
marl< of all, and spearheaded the growth of the RAF's front-
line presence in Germany during the early 1950s. Units based
in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Far Easc also took
onVampires as their initial jet equipment.Two-seatVampires
started out with the NF l0 night fighter of 1949, theVampire
Trainer, designated T I I by the RAI following in 1950 and
heralding a new dawn for the RAF pilot training scheme. Now,
pilots would gain their'wings' on jets at FlyingTraining Schools
before moving on to their Operational Conversion Units.
Vampires also saw service with l6 other nations, the Swiss Air
Force being the last to retire the type, doing so in l990.Two
of its FB6s are shown here.
Vickers Viscount
For a long time, no British airliner proved as commercially
successful as theViscount. lt was also a pioneer, being the first
turboprop-powered machine to enter commercial service.
The Rolls-Royce Dart-poweredViscount prototype flew
for the first time in July l948.This initialType 630 version,
which started flying for BEA two years later, was far from
perfect as a 32-seater and possessing less-than-impressive
-
performance, the operating economics didnt work. But the
improved Type 700, accommodating up to 53 seats, was far
more impressive,the prototype (G-AMAV pictured here)
proving fastest in the transport class of the I 953 air race
between London and Christchurch, New Zealand,while
another stretch produced the 7 I -seatType 800. By then,
it was truly a success, even breaking into the US domestic
market.The 445th and lastViscount rolled offthe line in
1964 not until the BAe Jetstream beat it in 1990 would
-
another British airliner exceed that total.

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 Alratlcn lilagc! 'oril

English Electric Cqnberro

There can be no doubt that the Canberra deserves a place in the pantheon of
truly great aeroplanes and not just truly great British aeroplanes.The twin
-
Rolls-RoyceAvon-powered jet bomber was a quantum leap over everything
that had gone before, being fast, high-flying, agile, versatile and able to deliver
an impressive punch. lt was clearly outstanding when the English ElectricAl
prototype got air under its wheels in Roland Beamont's hands on l3 May 1949,
proved so obviously capable in testing rhar rhe USAF ordered it as an all-weather
interdictor even before RAF service entry of the Canberra 82 in May 195 l,and
remained a valuable RAF asset right up until the retirement of its last Canberra
PR9s in the summer of 2006.Just over 900 were built in the UK, plus 48 in
Australia, and the type served with l5 nations as well as the UK and, in B-57 form, the
USA. Of course, the Canberra had its idiosyncrasies, but 60 years after its first flight it is t\ \/ I I

still remembered with enormous affection.Those in the accompanying photograph are B6s
of Nos I 09 and I 39 Squadrons, based at Binbrook in I 956.

de Hqvillond Comel further inroads into

The uncharitable might say that few aircraft sum up Britain's lost
lead in post-war aircraft development better than the DH 106
the global marl<et, but
by then the Boeing
707 and Douglas
L \E
Comet.All seemed rosy when the prototype took to the air on DC-8 had begun to
27 )uly l949,thus becoming the world's first jet airliner to fly, and
clean up.The Comet
the Comet I's entry into service with BOAC in May 1952 was a has lived on,though,
matter of considerable pride. But there then followed the series of
fatal accidents, the latter two in 1954 the result of metal fatigue, that
in the RAFi Nimrod ffiew
maritime patrol and
killed off its hopes.The aircraft leading the formation shown, G-ALYB ISTAR aircraft, and it is incredible that,60 years after the DH 106
was involved in the first of the fatigue-related disasters. Not until prototype's maiden flight, rhe RAF is waiting to tal<e delivery of the
the Comet 4 came along in I 958 did the type begin to make any latest variant of this line, the Nimrod MRA4.

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 ,.i 'L'*

Howker Hunter
The most beautiful iet aircraft ever builtlVery
.. .......-...:
' ''
.': '" possibly.The Hunter certainly looked right,
.,-' d and, after early teething troubles, it flew right,

#l #{: powered P 067 prototype up for the first

1

."6't i'. -,s time on 20 July 195 I, though the need for
further development delayed the arrival of
"d{--:
' d'G{fr the first Hunter F ls with No 43 Squadron
-Y *t{nf
until July 1954, and even then the first mark
was a troubled machine, unable to fire its
{$n
tt,7' gun at high altitudes or high speeds for fear
\
iq; of causing a flameout.As an interim measure
{, .r ;,"*.:*' there followed the F2, with an Armstrong
"fr ,.d:' Siddeley Sapphire turbojet, but then it
was back to theAvon in improved
# versions
-
and Hunter marks that could
fi -
;$ at last fulfil the design's potential, with
good performance and longer range'The
. ;v,i.t
r'ut main production Hunter for the RAF was
.:w .r& ::,
-wM ,,,:,111:1','.t,": the F6, on which were based the ground
attack FGA9 and fighter/recce FRl0.
Two-seatTTs served the RAF from I 958
until l994.The Hunter also proved a
great export success, being flown by 2 I
u other nations indeed, Lebanon has
just returned -its to service! Pictured
is a four-ship of FGA9s from No 208
d ':. Squadron, RAF, going vertical with
$
.
r Mount Kilimaniaro in the bacl<ground.
 'ffi '^ffiilffi]

Bristol Britqnnio
The Britannia finally came along with its Bristol Proreus
turboprops when airlines were looking for jets for
long-range services, endured a protracted development
programme punctuated by various problems, and could
have sent its manufacturer into banl<ruptcy.The first
Britannia (G-ALBO, pictured in BOAC marl<ings) flew
in August 1952, but BOAC service entry didn't take
place for anorher five years. ln December 1957, it did
however become the first turbine-powered aircraft to
operate services across the North Atlantic. Production
Avro Vulcon
was propped up by RAF orders and a few small deals
with overseas carriers alas, it was never going to be The huge public interest in XH558 today proves theVulcan! enduring
-
enough.At least the Britannia en.joyed a long life with status as an icon of the ColdWar and of British aviation.The second of
British charter operators, one of which, of course, even the triumvirate of 'V-bombers' to fly, doing so on 30 August I 952, the delta
named itself after the type! wing configuration was chosen by designer Roy Chadwick as a means of
maximising the aircraft's weapons load, speed and range.That firstAvro
Type 698 got airborne initially under the power of four Avons, though
production examples, deliveries of which to No 230 Operational
Conversion Unit commenced atWaddington in February 1957, would
use Bristol Olympus engines. More powerful units were employed
on theVulcan 82,which also had a wing of greater span and chord,
affording a bigger weapons payload and longer range.The type's role
altered substantially over the years, starting out as part of the UK!
nuclear deterrent, and finishing up near the end of its service life
performing conventional attacks against port Stanley during the
Falklands War'Blacl< Bucl<' missions the only time, thanl<fully,
Vulcans were ever used'in anger'.The - K2 tanl<ers of No 50
Squadron were the last in service, being phased out in 1984. Shown
is the first production B I, XA889.

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English Eleclric Blockbutn Buccqneer
Lightning A Fleet Air Arm requirement (NA39, by which
designation the prototypes were known)
To the Lightning goes the
honour of being the RAF's for a carrier-borne low-level stril<e aircraf!
produced the Buccaneer.What Blacl<burn came
first fighter able to go
up with was an innovative design, involving
supersonic in level flight
such elements as the use of boundary layer
a level of performance
-that demanded rigorous control and a rotating bomb bay. Upon service
aerodynamic testing. Roland entry with the FAA in 1962, it was clear that
Beamont made the rnaiden
i
the Buccaneer S I Gyron Junior engines were
/'\ 'rr f,,rrr.r|rr arl!,' inadequate, but the Rolls-Royce Speys of the
flight of the English Electric a-1r

52, which arrived in 1965, cured this failing and

PIA prototype, then with two Sapphire engines,
on 4 August I 954, though the subsequent P I Bs unlocked the type's potential.The RAF decided
would be far closer to production configuration to adopt the Buccaneer when its F- I I I K
order was cancelled,
the first of thern became the first British
-aircraft to reach Mach 2, in November l958.The buying some for itself
and tal<ing on ex- FAA
Central Fighter Establislrment at Coltishall got
aircraft. Already
its first Lightning F ls late in 1959, and No 74
deemed obsolescent,
Squadron in July 1960 - -a new era for the RAF's
the type saw combat
fighter force had begun.Thc Lightning's main
with the RAF in the
handicap remained its short range, despite the
199 I Gulf War three
extra fuel tanl<age on thc latcr F3 and F6 marlcs, -
years later, No 208
but pilots loved its outstanding performance
Squadron retired its last
whatever the shortcomings.June 1988 saw No I I

'Buccs'.The aircraft in
Squadron relinquishing its last Lightnings at
it was a sad day, and the this shot is an S I about
Binbrool<
-
Tornado F3 could never hope to be viewed with
to be fired from the bow
catapult on HMS Hermes
such excitement. Pictured here is a Lightning F2
ofNo l9Squadron. in 1962.
AIRFIX