Sunday 15 September 1940 was the day on which massed waves of Luftwaffe aircraft came to attack England expecting little opposition, though were met by a strong force of RAF fighters which hit the enemy
Read moreBattle of Britain Day
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Messerschmitt Bf 109E cockpit
1 Revi gun sight 2 Clock 3 Magneto switches 4 Altimeter 5 Magnetic compass 6 Boost gauge 7 Air speed indicator 8 Turn and bank indicator 9 RPM gauge 10 Propeller pitch indicator 11 Fuel
Read moreRAF Bentley Priory – HQ Fighter Command
Once home to Fighter Command and from where the Battle of Britain was organised by Sir Hugh Dowding, plans are in hand for Bentley Priory to become a museum dedicated to the memory of ‘The
Read moreFor Valour
The heart-rending story behind the award of the Victoria Cross to 18-year-old Canadian pilot Lt Alan Arnett McLeod. As a result of courage shown in the face of combat while at the same time being
Read moreThe letter that changed the course of history
On 16 May 1940 Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Fighter Command, wrote this famous letter to the Under Secretary of State at the Air Ministry requesting that a sufficient Home Defence
Read moreBirth of a legend
The development of the first Spitfire, K5054 On 5 March 1936, a beautiful-looking sleek new monoplane made its first flight from the Supermarine works airfield at Eastleigh in Hampshire – attractive as it may have
Read more‘Lancs’ on film
With Peter Jackson’s new ‘take’ on the ‘dam busters’ legend currently in production, Jonathan Falconer looks back to the original – and some might say never-to-be-bettered The Dam Busters – when real RAF bomber pilots
Read moreEnemy coast ahead
In 1944 Wg Cdr Guy Gibson VC DSO* DFC* wrote a fascinating account of his wartime experiences, which was first published in book form in 1946. What follows here are edited extracts taken from his original manuscript that form an article focusing on the
Read moreIssue 28 – Aero L-39 Albatros
Designed by the Aero Vodochody team under chief designer Jan VlÄek, the prototype Aero L-39, actually the second aircraft built, first flew on November 4, 1969. Full scale production began in 1971 to equip the
Read moreIssue 27 – Bell UH-1 Iroquois
The success of the Bell Huey family is an astounding achievement in rotary winged design; some of the first helicopters built in the 1960s are still in regular use today. Firstly, I have to apologise
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