A Hillman Minx used as a RAF Staff Car on display at RAF London. The basic Hillman Minx saloon was also produced for military and essential civilian use from 1940 to 1944.
Category: raf london
De Havilland Mosquito B35
The de Havilland Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. This Mosquito was at RAF London.
The Mosquito was a remarkable aircraft for its time; not only was it made largely of wood but it was designed as an unarmed bomber, depending on its superior speed to escape enemy fighters. It was nicknamed ‘The Wooden Wonder’.
On 12 March 1945 the last bomber variant of the Mosquito, the B35, made its first test flight. The war had ended before it could be used operationally, but it entered service with the post-war Royal Air Force and served as a bomber until the beginning of 1954.
Originally conceived as an unarmed fast bomber, the Mosquito’s use evolved during the war into many roles, including low- to medium-altitude daytime tactical bomber, high-altitude night bomber, pathfinder, day or night fighter, fighter-bomber, intruder, maritime strike, and photo-reconnaissance aircraft. It was also used by the British Overseas Airways Corporation as a fast transport to carry small, high-value cargo to and from neutral countries through enemy-controlled airspace.
There is a De Havilland Mosquito at RAF Cosford.
Austin K2 Ambulance
The Austin K2 is a British heavy military ambulance that was used by all Commonwealth services during the Second World War.
This RAF Austin K2 Ambulance was on display at RAF London.
Built by Austin, it was based on the 1938 Austin K30 30-cwt light truck which as the K2 chassis was built during the war for many uses.
My main memory of this vehicle is from the Airfix RAF Emergency Set.
Standard Vanguard RAF Staff Car
This is a Standard Vanguard RAF Staff Car from 138 Squadron which was on display at RAF London.
Daimler Ferret Scout Car MKII
The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was widely adopted by regiments in the British Army, as well as the RAF Regiment and Commonwealth countries.
This example at the RAF London museum was restored at RAF Northolt using parts from several vehicles.
The Ferret was used in most parts of world, proving to be particularly popular as it was very easy to maintain in combat conditions. The RAF first used the armoured car in the Radfan area of Aden near Yemen during operations in the 1960s. Later the Ferret was used by the RAF Regiment to protect Harrier sites.
There were a few Ferret MkII Scout Cars at the Bovington Tank Museum.
There was a Ferret MkII Scout Car in a white UN paint scheme on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.
RAF Bomb Disposal Ford Zephyr
The Ford Zephyr is an executive car manufactured by Ford of Britain from 1950 until 1972. Unlike most Ford Zephyr cars in the Royal Air Force motor pool, 25-AM-44 (which is on display at RAF London) was not used as a staff car. Instead, the RAF’s explosive ordnance disposal unit bought it in 1966 to transport bomb squads. This RAF Bomb Disposal Ford Zephyr had its fenders painted red and “RAF Bomb Disposal” printed on the hood.
Avro Vulcan B2
The Avro Vulcan is a jet-powered tailless delta wing high-altitude strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984.
The Vulcan was the second of the Royal Air Force’s ‘V bombers’ and like the Valiant and Victor provided part of Great Britain’s nuclear deterrent force for fifteen years. The prototype B1 first flew on 30 August 1952; four years later work began on an improved B2 design. The B2 made it possible to carry the Blue Steel nuclear stand-off bomb.
By 1966 Soviet missile defences had become so effective that Vulcans switched from high- to low-level penetration. In 1970, following their withdrawal from the nuclear deterrent, Vulcans switched to the conventional bomber role in support of NATO forces in Europe. The Vulcan’s range could be greatly increased by in-flight refuelling which was used to such good effect in the long-range attacks on the Falkland Islands from Ascension Island in 1982. The last Vulcans retired from operational service in 1984.
XL318 is on display at RAF London.
Heinkel He 162A-2
The Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger or “People’s Fighter” was a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe in World War Two.
The Heinkel He 162 was one of Germany’s last ditch attempts to win back the control of the skies with a cheap jet fighter capable of being flown by almost anyone. Like all the other weapons it came too late to have any effect on the outcome of the war. Developed under the Emergency Fighter Program, it was designed and built quickly and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritised for other aircraft.
Disassembled
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 was a single-seat single-engine multi-role fighter-bomber, capable of carrying a larger bomb load than its counterpart the Messerschmitt Bf109. Entering Luftwaffe service in August 1941, the Fw 190 proved superior in many respects to the Royal Air Force’s main frontline fighter, the Spitfire V. It took the introduction of the much improved Spitfire IX in July 1942 for the RAF to gain an aircraft of equal capability.
At RAF London there is a two-seat Focke-Wulf Fw 190, which here is being disassembled.
The Fw 190 is to be sent to Germany and will be on long-term loan with the Militärhistorisches Museum der Bundeswehr in Berlin-Gatow.
FW-190 at RAF Cosford.
Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress
The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States.
This Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress was on display at RAF London.
The B-17 was primarily employed by the USAAF in the daylight strategic bombing campaign of World War II against German industrial, military and civilian targets. The United States Eighth Air Force, based at many airfields in central, eastern and southern England, and the Fifteenth Air Force, based in Italy, complemented the RAF Bomber Command’s night-time area bombing in the Combined Bomber Offensive to help secure air superiority over the cities, factories and battlefields of Western Europe in preparation for the invasion of France in 1944.
There was a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress at Duxford.
