Category: raf london

Hawker Hurricane Mk I

Hawker Hurricane Mk I

The Hurricane will always be remembered for the vital role it played, with its partner the Spitfire, in hectic battles during the summer of 1940. Hurricanes destroyed more enemy aircraft during the Battle of Britain than did all the other air and ground defences combined.

Designed by the Hawker Aircraft Company in 1934 it first entered service in 1937. It provided the RAF with a fighter 160kph (100mph) faster than aircraft then in service; with an increased fire power of eight machine guns.

When war was declared, on the 3 September 1939, about five-hundred Hurricanes were in service and several squadrons were sent to France. During the 1940 German Blitzkrieg through the Low Countries and France they fought a punishing rearguard action in which over 25% of all Fighter Command’s aircraft were destroyed.

As the Battle of Britain raged in the skies overhead aircraft production increased so that by September 1940 the number of Hurricane squadrons had risen from eighteen, a year earlier, to thirty-two.

It was in a Hurricane of No.249 Squadron that Flt Lt J.B. Nicholson was awarded Fighter Command’s only Victoria Cross.

Later in the War Hurricanes made a significant contribution to the defence of Malta, the desert war in North Africa and war against the Japanese in the Far East.

Hawker Hurricane Mk IIb at the Imperial War Museum Duxford

Hawker Hurricane Mk IIc at RAF Cosford

Avro Lancaster Mk I R5868

This Avro Lancaster Mk I R5868 was on display at RAF London.

The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirling, all three aircraft being four-engined heavy bombers adopted by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the same wartime era.

The Lancaster has its origins in the twin-engine Avro Manchester which had been developed during the late 1930s.

It first saw service with RAF Bomber Command in 1942 and as the strategic bombing offensive over Europe gathered momentum, it was the main aircraft for the night-time bombing campaigns that followed.

As increasing numbers of the type were produced, it became the principal heavy bomber used by the RAF.

Supermarine Spitfire Mk I

The Spitfire is the most famous British fighter aircraft in history. It won immortal fame during the summer months of 1940 by helping to defeat the German air attacks during the Battle of Britain.

The prototype made its first flight four years earlier as Britain’s industry geared up to re-arm against the threat from Nazi Germany. From the beginning pilots recognised it as a thoroughbred combining a perfection of design with superb handling characteristics.

Once the RAF modified their tactics to properly counter the Luftwaffe, the Spitfire MkI proved to be the only British fighter capable of meeting the Messerschmitt Bf109E on equal terms. Often the outcome of a combat depended more on the quality of the pilot than his aircraft.

Perhaps the greatest compliment paid to this aircraft was made at the height of the Battle of Britain by a German ace, who in a moment of anger and frustration, turned to his Commander in Chief and demanded a squadron of Spitfires!

There is also a Spitfire Mk 1 at RAF Cosford.

Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3

This Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 was on display at RAF London.

The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and was still in service at the dawn of the jet age at the end of World War II in 1945.

The Bf109E was an improved version of an aircraft designed by Willi Messerschmitt in 1935. It had proved to be a superb fighter during early combat trials in the Spanish Civil War.

Only when German fighter pilots met the Spitfire in combat did they find an aircraft in some ways equal to their own. The Bf109E was as fast as the Spitfire, faster than the Hurricane but could out-climb both.

Fiat CR.42 Falco

The Fiat CR.42 Falco is a single-seat sesquiplane fighter developed and produced by Italian aircraft manufacturer Fiat Aviazione. It served primarily in the Italian Regia Aeronautica in the 1930s and during the Second World War.

Fiat CR.42 Falco

The CR42 was a delightful machine to fly and was the best biplane in service in 1940. Although the days of the biplane fighter were numbered it continued to take part in air operations until the end of 1943 and was built in greater numbers than any other Italian World War Two fighter.

This immensely strong and very manoeuvrable fighter first saw combat in the brief two week campaign over Southern France. Light losses against the French gave the Italians a mistaken impression that their tactics and aircraft were highly effective.

National pride and political prestige, rather than military necessity, led the Italian Dictator Mussolini to send a force of bombers and fighters to take part in the air battles against Great Britain. Arriving at airfields on the Channel coast in October 1940 they proved something of an embarrassment to the Luftwaffe who had resisted the move for some time. Bad weather and obsolescent equipment meant that the venture was not a success.

Little combat with British fighters took place over the British Isles but it did reveal the CR42’s major weakness; its armament of two machine guns was no more than a World War One fighter and it was unable to inflict major damage on its opponents.

Bristol Sycamore HR.12

The Bristol Type 171 Sycamore was an early helicopter developed and built by the helicopter division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It has the distinction of being the first British helicopter to receive a certificate of airworthiness, as well as being the first British-designed helicopter to be introduced by and to serve with the Royal Air Force (RAF).

This Bristol Sycamore was on display at RAF London.

There was also a RAF Bristol Sycamore was on display at RAF Cosford.

Westland Wessex HCC4

The Westland Wessex was a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34. It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Helicopters. One of the main changes from Sikorsky’s H-34 was the replacement of the piston-engine powerplant with a turboshaft engine. Early models were powered by a single Napier Gazelle engine, while later builds used a pair of de Havilland Gnome engines.

The initial production version was for the Royal Navy but in the early 1960s the RAF required a powerful general-purpose helicopter capable of troop-carrying, air ambulance and ground attack roles. Westland responded with the Wessex HC2 which first entered RAF service with No.18 Squadron, based at RAF Odiham, Hampshire, in January 1964.

Four years later Westland Helicopters received an order for two Wessex aircraft to equip The Queen’s Flight. These were designated HCC4. The aircraft were built to HC2 standard but with the main cabin having a VIP interior finish, furnishings and sound proofing plus an external folding step below the cabin door. 

Additional Decca navigation equipment was installed on the flight deck. The first flight took place on 17 March 1969. The first official flight was on 1 July 1969 in support of the Investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle, Wales. The helicopters in their distinctive red/dark blue paint scheme operated for many years from RAF Benson.

From 31 March 1995 they moved to RAF Northolt and became part of No.32 (The Royal) Squadron.

The Wessex HCC4 was retired in 1998 and No.32 (The Royal) Squadron gave up the task of providing helicopters for the Royal Family. The Royal Household awarded a ten year contract to Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and Hanson Helicopters to provide the Queen with an S76 and civilian crew.

‘The Flying Eggbeater’

Sikorsky Hoverfly

The Sikorsky Hoverfly was the world’s first operational helicopter, first flown in January 1942. It was widely used during the last 16 months of the Second World War in Burma and the Pacific serving with the US Army Air Force, US Navy and US Coastquard on liaison and rescue tasks. 

The Hoverfly Mk I was also the first RAF helicopter – operated by The King’s Flight, Helicopter Training Flight at Andover and No. 529 (Radar Calibration) Squadron.

The Hoverfly Mk 1 was not capable of carrying heavy loads and was mainly used by the RAF to prove that rotary wing aircraft could support military operations. During its RAF career the Hoverfly was nicknamed ‘The Flying Eggbeater’.

Westland Whirlwind

The Westland Whirlwind helicopter was a British licence-built version of the U.S. Sikorsky S-55/H-19 Chickasaw. It primarily served with the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm in anti-submarine and search and rescue roles.

This RAF Rescue Westland Whirlwind was on display at RAF London.

The Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force used Whirlwinds painted in overall yellow for rescuing people in distress around the coast of the United Kingdom.