Home 

BROCKWORTH 4 DECEMBER 2010

However, it appears that the reconnaissance blue painted glazed nose model above has been given the serial number of a Mark II Night Fighter intruder variant which should have a solid gun-bearing nose and green and grey camouflage.

DZ230 was in fact a modified NF II delivered to 23 Squadron RAF at the end of 1942 with the code letters YP-A and was eventually flown by Wing Commander G. Wykeham-Barnes from Malta.  Range for intruder missions over Occupied Europe was provided by filling the bomb bay with a 120 gallon fuel tank and - as it was still highly secret equipment - the airborne radar set was removed to prevent capture in the event of a crash.  As it turned out however, DZ230 was written off when it overshot the runway at RAF Luqa on 22 June 1943.  Luckily both crew members escaped without injury.

More consistent between marque and markings however is the Tamiya model of NF II NS850 in the markings of 418 City of Edmonton Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force, formed in November 1941.

By March 1942 the unit had completed an accelerated training programme and begun flying intruder operations with the Douglas Boston III to intercept and shoot down enemy aircraft over their home airfields, interdict rail supply lines and engage other targets of opportunity.

While losing too many crew and aircraft, 418 was still taking a toll on German operations on the continent.  In February 1943 however, 418 Squadron received its first de Havilland Mosquito NF II armed with four .30 calibre machine guns in the nose and four 20mm canon in the forward bomb bay.  The radar set, despite being useful, was removed to avoid it falling into enemy hands although the NF II Mosquito so configured was to led to the development of the FB VI version that also had provision for more fuel and under wing stores.

By mid-1943, 418 had replaced all its Bostons with the Mosquito and losses dropped dramatically while its kill record rapidly grew.  By the end of the war, 418 had become the highest scoring Canadian fighter unit - the majority of the kills being credited to the Mosquito.  The final tally was 178 enemy aircraft destroyed ( 105 in the air ), 83 V-1 missiles, over 200 ground vehicles and 16 locomotives.

418 Squadron RCAF aircraft carried the wartime code letters TH and nose art was themed on Al Capp's L'il Abner cartoon strip, including:

Meanwhile, the potential of the Do-17 as a fast bomber was recognised by record breaking pilot Flugkapitan Untucht who liaised between Lufthansa and the RLM ( Reichluftministerium, or German Air Ministry) and the first of three RLM bomber prototypes flew in 1935.  The new Do-17 was slightly shorter than the putative Lufthansa machines and powered by 750 bhp BMW VI 7.3 engines which yielded a top speed of 236 mph.  Soon dubbed the Flying Pencil, the Do-17 made an interesting comparison to the "Flying Suitcase" Handley-Page Hampden of 1936.

A special light weight Do-17 with two 1 000 bhp Daimler Benz DB600A engines was built for the International Military Aircraft Competition held at Zurich in July 1937.  This out-flew all other entrants with a top speed of 284 mph and standard production variants were similarly able to evade Republican fighters in the Spanish Civil War where the Do-17 served as part of the Nazi Condor Legion.

The Luftwaffe thus entered World War II convinced that its lightly armed medium bombers would be able to speed past any fighter opposition, although the Do-17 E-1 which entered service in mid 1937 was armed with two 7.92 mm machine guns with an optional third in a ventral position.

Although able to deliver a maximum 1 650 lb bomb load against disorganised and obsolete fighters over Poland however, the Do-17 met its match against Hawker Hurricanes and Supermarine Spitfires over Britain.  Not only were both RAF fighters directed by controllers using information supplied by Chain Home radar but the Spitfire was 50mph faster than its German opponent, which had to abandon its mission and dive away to survive.

As a result, Do-17 production ended in 1940 after 522 of the Z variants had been outshopped and the type was withdrawn from front line use during 1941.

At the start of the Battle of Britain KG2, KG3 and III/.KG76 were still using the Do-17 while it was replaced by the Ju 88 in other Kampfgeschwaders.  Similarly, despite being used to bomb Britain at night, the Do-17 was only used by a handful of units by January 1941.

This 1/48 scale model is from the Hobbycraft kit and represents 5K+EA of Kampfgeschwader 3, sometimes depicted as having green rather than yellow propeller spinners and carrying the squadron badge of a read and white horizontally banded shield with contrasting flared crosses.

The Boston I was powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S3G-4G engines and although mainly used for training some aircraft were converted for night fighting and known by the RAF as Havocs.  The night fighter Havocs had lengthened noses fitted with 12 forward firing 7.62mm guns and Airborne Interception radar while the intruder variant carried a crew of three and full armament and bomb load.  There was also the short lived Turbinlite Havoc, unarmed but for a searchlight to illuminate enemy aircraft for the benefit of night fighters not equipped with radar.

The A-20 was the first of the series built to a US Army Air Force specification with American armament and equipment and was powered by two 1500 bhp Wright R-2600-7 Cyclone engines with exhaust driven superchargers. As the Boston II for the RAF, the A-20 had R-2600-A5B engines and British armament. 

The USAAF A-20A was powered by two 1600 bhp Wright R-2600-11 engines with integral two-speed superchargers and the A-20B was an experimental development of this with two forward firing 12.7mm guns, a similar bore upper flexible gun, one 7.62mm lower flexible gun and one 7.62mm gun in the rear of each engine nacelle, firing aft.  The nacelle guns were controlled by a foot trigger in the rear compartment.

The A-20C was powered by two similarly rated R-2600-23 engines and was armed with four 7.62mm guns fixed in pairs on either side of the transparent nose, two on a flexible mounting in the rear cockpit and one in the lower rear-firing position.  Ejector style exhaust stacks replaced the earlier collector rings used on the earlier models and range was increased by the addition of self sealing fuel tanks in the forward and rear bomb-bay compartments.  Provision was also made on some aircraft to carry a 900 kg naval torpedo.

The British A-20C - the RAF's Boston III - was powered by R-2600-A5B engines and carried a crew of four as a bomber.  The Boston IIIA was similar but built by Boeing and some Boston III / IIIA were fitted as itrders with four 20mm canon under the forward fuselage, four 7.69mm guns in the nose and two 7.69mm guns in the upper flexible position.

Following the experimental XA-20E with a 37mm nose canon and General Electric turrets, the A-20G appeared.  This was similar to the A-20C except that the transparent bombardier nose was replaced with a solid nose fitted ( in earlier versions )  with four 20mm canon and two 12.7mm machine guns and ultimately with six 12.7mm guns.  A few also had a single 12.7mm upper flexible gun, but this was soon replaced by a power driven turret armed with two 12.7mm guns.  Thicker armour for increased crew protection on ground attack missios was also added.

The A-20H was powered by two 1 700 bhp R-2600-29 engines and incorporated minor improvements.

The A-20J was identical to the later version of the A-20G except that the attack nose was replaced by a moulded plastic bombardier's nose incorporating bombing controls and flight navigation instruments.  One in ten A-20G were completed as A-20J to serve as squadron lead planes.  Armament consisted of two 12.7mm machine guns - one on each side of the transparent nose - two in the power operated dorsal turret and one in the lower firing position.  it is believed that this model was built from the Revell kit.

Tank's design team prepared two proposals: one based on the Daimler Benz DB601 liquid cooled engine and the other on BMW's 801 air cooled radial powerplant.  At the time radial engines were not favoured for fighter aircraft due to their inherent drag properties and tendency to obscure the view of the pilot on take off and landing but surprisingly General Ernst Udet - father of the Ju 87 Stuka - opted for the BMW prime mover.

The Munich built 801required the Fw 190's cockpit to be moved backwards to compensate for the greater mass and itself needed a revised cooling fan to stop it overheating but the resultant fighter had a wider undercarriage than the Me Bf 109 and the clear rear canopy gave a better look out for enemy aircraft.

The Fw 190 prototype first flew on 1 June 1939 with production examples being delivered in late 1940.  Within a year Fw 190s were making daylight sweeps over southern England against which Supermarine Spitfire Vs proved ineffective.  The imbalance was only corrected with the arrival of more powerful Spitfire IX's in partnership with four-cannon Hawker Typhoons.    Indeed, data gained from examination of a captured Fw 190 informed the specification of the Hawker Sea Fury.

As RAF and USAAF bombing raids got heavier and heavier in Europe, new tactics were employed by some German fighter units flying Fw 190s. Against US heavy bombers on daylight raids, several Fw 190s would form a queue and approach from the rear of the bomber formation. At very close range, the fighters would then 'open up,' so giving the rear gunners in the bombers very little chance of firing methodically at all the attackers.

During 1943, the Fw 190 was encountered frequently in Europe while performing night fighter missions. About the same time, the first Fw 190s came off the production line fitted with inline, rather than radial, engines. General appearance stayed the same, because of the use of an annular radiator at the nose.

The chevron marking behind the cockpit indicates a unit commander's aircraft.

The prototype was delivered to Martlesham Heath on 20 February 1925 and in the following September an initial order was placed on behalf of the RAF for 30 Gamecock Is powered by the 425 bhp Jupiter VI.  In the event a further 60 Gamecock Is were built for the RAF during 1925-27, one of these - J8047, unofficially known as the Gamecock III -  flying from 1927 with a lengthened fuselage, new and enlarged fin and rudder assembly and narrow-chord ailerons.

A developed version, the Gamecock II, with a lengthened fuselage, steel-tube upper wing centre section, narrow chord ailerons and a larger rudder, appeared in 1928.  This was adopted by Finland with two pattern aircraft and a manufacturing licence being acquired.  Fifteen Gamecock IIs were built for the Finnish air arm by the State Aircraft Factory ( Valtion Lentokonenetehdas )  and powered by either 420 bhp Gnome-Rhone Jupiter engines or later by 480 Jupiter IVs. 

The last Gamecock Is were withdrawn from from front line RAF service in mid 1931 but the Gamecock IIs remained in front line Finnish service until 1935.

it was essential that the replacement fighter be agile, considerably faster than anything then in service and - because increasing speeds meant that both defending and attacking aircraft would be in proximity for shorter periods - be much more heavily armed.

Developed from the all-metal Gloster Goldfinch, the Brockworth built SS-19B demonstrated a maximum speed of 214 mph at Martlesham Heath in 1933 and was ordered into production as the Gloster Gauntlet I.  This was to be the last open-cockpit RAF biplane and served with no less than 14 squadrons.  From 1935 to 1937 Gauntlets were the fastest fighters in RAF service, partially replaced by Gloster Gladiators and Hawker Hurricanes in 1938 and finally ousted by Supermarine Spitfires in 1939. 

Aircraft produced from 1935, after the Gloster Aircraft Company had become a part of Hawkers, were constructed according to Hawker construction methods with changes to wing spar and fuselage specification.  These machines were designated Gauntlet II.

In November 1936 three Gloster Gauntlets from 32 squadron intercepted a civil airliner under the guidance of an experimental ground radar installation at Bawdsey Manor, Suffolk - the first radar controlled interception in history.

The Gloster Gauntlet saw combat with Finnish forces during the Winter War of 1939-40 where they were outnumbered by Russian aircr including the 279 mph Polikarpov I-153 biplane.

Gloster Gauntlet II K7817 is modelled in the colours of 74 "Tiger" Squadron based at RAF Hornchurch, Essex, in June 1937.

The first and fourth prototypes were fitted with Rover W.2B engines but having performed taxi tests and short hops with the first G.41 prototype ( DG202/G, now preserved at RAF Cosford ) in July 1942 Gloster test pilot P.E.G. Sayer found the aeroplane too underpowered to fly safely.

The first Meteor to actually fly did so on 5 March 1943 with Michael Daunt at the controls.  This was the fifth prototype and was fitted with de Havilland Halford H1 turbojets, the ancestor of the Goblin.  This experience led to the sixth prototype being fitted with fully developed de Havilland Goblin engines, flown on 12 July 1945 and potentially forming the basis of a Meteor Mark II (G-41B).  However, de Havilland wanted to reserve Goblin production for their new Vampire fighter and so the Meteor Mark II was cancelled and no operational Meteors featured de Havilland engines.

The third Meteor prototype - first flown in November 1943 - was powered by Metro Vick F2 axial flow gas turbines in oversized nacelles.  This was the first - but not the last  - axial flow engine to be tested on a Meteor airframe although all operational Meteors would fly with centrifugal flow engines as originally designed by Sir Frank Whittle.

All other Meteor prototypes were fitted with variations of the W.2B engine except for the eight, which was powered by Rolls Royce Derwent I prime movers.  This aircraft first flew on 18 April 1944 and pointed the way to the operational Meteor marks.

The early jet aircraft - although capable of spectacular performance - were by no means fuel efficient and thus had limited range.  Their only suitable role to begin with was therefore point defence interception, a role which was more than adequately covered by piston engined fighters by 1943 as Luftwaffe bombers were no longer a real threat to the British Isles.

However, from mid 1943 intelligence reports of new German jet aircraft and missiles indicated that there was a practical need to develop Allied gas turbine powered countermeasures and the Meteor Mark I (G-41A) was produced for operational evaluation.

The all metal Meteor I featured low mounted straight two-spar wings, each carrying an engine nacelle, and a high mounted tail plane to keep it out of the way of the jet exhaust.  It had fence-style air brakes above and below the wings inboard of the engines to keep the aircraft controllable in a high speed dive.  Nose wheel landing gear kept the jet engine level rather than pointing downwards on the ground and could be shorter than contemporary piston engined fighters as there were no propeller tips to hit the runway.  A mechanical indicator popped up from the nose when the landing gear was down to alert the pilot, the cockpit was pressurised and further forward than on a conventional fighter and an external belly tank could be attached to increase range.

Having originally been ordered during the Battle of Britain, the Meteor was designed as a series of connecting sub assemblies which could be built in dispersed factories before final erection: an idea which was retained in later Marks and made the Meteor easy to transport, repair and salvage. 

However, the Meteor I was still underpowered, had heavy controls and a poor look-out to the sides and rear.

20 Meteor Is were built by the Gloster Aircraft Company with the first flying on 12 January 1944.  They were fitted with Rolls Royce W.2B / Welland I engines with 1 700 lb thrust each.  the Meteor I had a clear-view canopy instead of the heavily framed cockpit covering of the prototypes.

The first Meteor I was traded with a Bell XP-59A Airacomet, the first American jet aircraft, for comparative evaluation and a few Meteor Is were retained for development work in Britain.  Of these aircraft, the eighteenth Meteor - EE227 - became the World's first turboprop and flew for the first time on 20 September 1945.  EE227's Rolls Royce Trent engines were basically Derwent IIs hastily fitted with a gearbox system to drive propellers although the Trent name has much more recently been revived by Rolls Royce for its high-bypass turbofans fitted to the Airbus A380 and other modern airliners.

The rest of the Meteor Is - EE213 to EE222 and EE224 to EE229 - entered service on 12 July 1944 with RAF Culmhead based 616 Squadron:  EE222/G becoming YQ-G before 616 moved from Yorkshire to RAF Manston.  Once operational in Kent, the first RAF and Allied combat jet sortie of World War II was flown on 27 July 1944.

The Meteor I was no faster than contemporary piston-engined fighters at high altitude but was considerably faster at low altitude and so were pressed into service to intercept German V-1 flying bombs.

The Meteor I was fitted with four 20mm Hispano Mark III canon though six had been included in the original G.41 requirement and one of the prototypes mounted six.  However, packing six such guns in the small Meteor I nose meant that one pair would be so mechanically inaccessible that they might have to be removed while still loaded - essentially a fatal accident waiting to happen!  However, the deletion of two canon meant that problematic ballast had to be added to the nose of the Meteor I and the remaining four canon easily jammed due to spent links from the ammunition belts accumulating in the ejection chutes.

Flying Officer "Dixie" Dean scored the Meteor's first V-1 kill on 4 August 1944.  His canon having jammed, Dean positioned the wingtip of his Meteor under that of the pulse-jet powered cruise missile and tipped it over towards the ground.  Another Meteor pilot, Flying Officer J. Roger, shot down another flying bomb later that day with his canon and a total of 13 kills were made during August 1944 until flying bomb attacks ceased.  This represented only a tiny fraction of thousands of flying bombs brought down by anti-aircraft fire and piston fighters but made the Meteor a useful propaganda tool.

In October that year, four Meteors also participated in exercises designed to develop defensive tactics for Allied bomber formations under attack from Luftwaffe jets. 

However, the pioneering Meteor Is were quickly replaced in RAF service from December 1944 with the Meteor III (G-41C) powered by the improved Rolls Royce Derwent engines.  210 Meteor IIIs were produced up to 1947.

Given such names as Audax, Demon, Hardy, Hind, Osprey, Hartbees and Fury, many of these Hart derivatives looked very similar apart from the Hector, which was powered by a Napier Dagger H type engine.

The original Air Ministry specification 12/26 required an aircraft with minimal frontal area while still carrying two crew, defensive armament and bombs and so Camm turned to the low drag water cooled inline Rolls Royce Falcon XI engine for power.  A new approach to airframe construction also featured a steel tube primary fuselage and wings with spars made from rolled steel tubes top and bottom linked by a light gage metal web.  the top wing had a mild sweep back and the Hart was built to take either a cross axle undercarriage or twin floats.  The float version could also be recognised by a larger fin and rudder.

The Hawker Hart was first mocked up in 1927 and the prototype - J9052 - was first flown powered by the Rolls Royce Falcon F.XIA in June 1928 with Group Captain Bulman at the controls.  Service evaluation of the Hart began at the end of 1928 at Martlesham Heath and concluded in May 1929 after which it first appeared in public at the July 1929 Olympia Aero Show.

In trials the Hawker Hart outclassed both the Avro Antelope and Fairey Fox Mark 2 in speed, handling and ease of maintenance and Air Ministry specification 9/29 signalled a pre production batch of 15 aircraft.  Of these 15, twelve - including K1431 - were issued to 33 Bomber Squadron which was previously equipped with Hawker Horsleys.

The entire British production of the Hart - shared by Hawker, Vickers, Gloster and Armstrong Whitworth - totalled 984, nearly half of which were trainers.  In 1936 three out of every four new squadrons were equipped with Hart variants.  As well as Hart exports to Estonia and Sweden the Hartebees was developed for the South African Air Force with four being built by Hawker and 65 assembled in Pretoria.

Possibly the most interesting Hart was registered as G-ABMR and visited 15 European countries between 1930 and 1936.  It featured wheel spats, an Audax hook, Osprey tail, low pressure tyres and a Hind tail wheel on different occasions and was used to ferry press photographers to and from Brooklands.  During World War II it was used as a ferry pilot taxi and afterwards raced in Hawker's blue and silver colours with a white trim.  When grounded after a forced landing it was lovingly restored and is now on static display at the RAF Museum in Hendon along with Hart trainer K4972.

Although the Hawker Demon was to eventually evolve into a turret fighter prefiguring the Bolton Paul Defiant, Sydney Camm's ultimate performance biplane was a single seat interceptor that was originally going to be named Hornet, armed with two.303" Vickers guns and powered by a 420 bhp development of the Rolls Royce Falcon XI known as the Kestrel.

However, although the engine and gun installations went ahead as planned, a new RAF policy of giving fighter aircraft names beginning with the letter F meant that the new straight-winged biplane the soubriquet "Fury".

Having proved itself a better - although more expensive - fighter than the Bristol Bulldog the first production Fury I made its maiden flight on 25 March 1931 but to begin with only equipped numbers 1, 25 and 43 Squadrons, considered the elite of the RAF's fighter defences. 

However, in the depths of the Great Depression the Hawker Fury was still the RAF's first-ever operational fighter to exceed 200 mph in level flight and arguably the service's most aesthetically pleasing biplane fighter of all time, its elegance being equalled by superb aerobatic qualities, an initial climb rate of 2 400' a minute and and highly sensitive controls.

Five RAF squadrons received Fury IIs - featuring 20% extra power, higher top speed and greater climb rate - in 1936-37 and foreign air forces including those of Yugoslavia, Norway, Persia and Portugal ordered the type - three of the fighters even seeing service on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War. These Spanish Furies were fitted with cantilever undercarriages and reached a type record speed of 242 mph.

However, by 1939 all RAF Fury squadrons had re-equipped with other designs including Gloster Gladiators and Sydney Camm's monoplane Fury development, the Hawker Hurricane.

K5673 is modelled above in the colours of 1 Squadron RAF based at Tangmere in 1931 but on 7 December 1938 it was being used by 3 Flying Training School when it stalled, crashed, tipped up and was damaged beyond repair at RAF South Cerney, Gloucestershire.

However, a replica of this aeroplane - British Aircraft Preservation Council 249 - is now on display at Brooklands in Surrey.

The first Gloster built Hawker Hurricane appeared on 27 October 1939 and the 1 000 th example exactly a year later.  A total of 2 750 Hurricanes were built at Brockworth up to March 1942, sometimes leaving the factory at the rate of five a day.

The 1/48 scale model pictured above was built from the Revell Monogram Classics Kit 0090 and carries the markings of KZ187, a Hurricane Mark ID, on Battle of Britain era brown and green camouflage.

In 1950, painted blue and wearing the civilian registration G-AMAU, it was entered in the King's Cup Air Race by HRH Princess Margaret.  Flown by Group Captain Peter Townsend it achieved second place.

During the 1960s PZ865 was restored to its wartime camouflage scheme, appeared in the 1969 Guy Hamilton film "The Battle of Britain" and made numerous display appearances, often in the hands of the famous fighter and test pilot Bill Bedford.

After a complete overhaul, PZ865 was flown to Coltishall in March 1972 and given to the Battle of Britain memorial Flight by Hawker Siddeley.  For many years the aircraft appeared as "The Last of the Many" but eventually the inscription was removed and put on display at the BBMF headquarters.

Indeed, both this 1/24 scale model and BAPC replica 72 celebrate one of the most remarkable Hawker Hurricanes to have been used in the defence of Britain by Gloucestershire's own 501 Squadron.

501 Squadron was formed at Filton on 14 June 1929 as a Special Reserve Unit and began to fly Avro 504N biplanes until DH9A day bombers arrived in March 1930.  These were a stepping stone to the more advanced Westland Wapitis which came on strength during September 1930.

In the meantime the Air Ministry had ordered a development of the Wapiti specifically for the Special Reserves and 501 received the first of this type - the Westland Wallace - in January 1933.  501 remained a Wallace unit until July 1936 when, with the expansion of the RAF and regularisation of the Special Reserve in May, it became part of the Auxiliary Air Force.  Its new Hawker Harts then received the gloss black top decking that had been a feature of its Wallaces.

Hawker Hinds arrived in March 1938 and at the end of the year 501 was redesignated as a fighter squadron receiving Hurricanes in March 1939.  On the outbreak of World War II, 501 formed the air defence of Bristol, then moved to Tangmere from where it flew defensive patrols until the German attack on France in May 1940.  The unit then moved across the Channel to provide fighter cover for the RAF's Advanced Air Striking Force, retiring to Brittany and returning to the K by way of St Helier, Jersey, to cover the evacuation of Cherbourg when France surrendered.

501 was based in southern England throughout the Battle of Britain, progressing from its first base at Croydon to Middle Wallop, Gravesend and Kenley by December.  Until the end of September it was scrambling three or four times a day and by the end of the Battle had claimed 149 enemy aircraft destroyed. 

Among its pilots was K.W. Mackenzie who had previously flown two operational tours with 43 Squadron.  On 7 October 1940 he made the following combat report for action taken in Hurricane V6799 SD-X:

"..At about 1335 hours I saw 8 Me 109s coming across the coast from the East about 1 800 feet above me.  I attacked the three nearest machines in vic formation from beneath and a fourth enemy aircraft doing rear guard flew across the line of fire and he developed a leak in the glycol tank.  he rolled and dived towards the coast.  I followed him, and his aircraft was only about 200 yards ahead and so was easy to catch.  I emptied the rest of my ammunition into him from 200 yards but he still flew on and down to 80 to 100 feet off the sea.  I flew around him and signalled him to go down, which had no result.  I therefore attempted to ram his tail with my undercarriage but it reduced my speed too low to hit him.  So flying alongside I dipped my starboard wing tip onto his port tail plane.  The tail plane came off and I lost the tip of my starboard wing.  The enemy aircraft spun into the sea and partially sank.."

Ken Mackenzie eventually claimed 7 victories with a further 4 shared and 3 damaged during his time with 501 Squadron and after the attack described above was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

He later joined 247 Squadron flying night fighter Hurricanes and shot down ten enemy aircraft in one year before being shot down himself and taken prisoner until 1944.  Ken Mackenzie later rose to the rank of RAF Wing Commander, added an AFC to his DFC and only died on 4 June 2009.

501 Squadron - motto Nil time / Fear nothing - then moved back to Filton in time for Christmas 1940 and in April 1941 relocated to RAF Colerne and applied its boar's head badge to Spitfire Mark IIAs.  Throughout 1941, 501 Squadron flew south coast convoy patrols, "Rhubarb" fighter sweeps over France against ground targets, escorted daylight bombers and attacked enemy shipping.

Similar duties prevailed in 1942 with 501 Squadron now flying Spitfire Vbs - largely on bomber escort work - until October when it moved to Ballyhalbert in Northern Ireland for more shipping patrols.

In April 1943 the squadron returned south to Tangmere for more intensive bomber escort work - some pilots being issued with the Spitfire Mk IXc - and in August 1944 converted to Hawker Tempest Mark Vs at Manston.  These Bristol Centaurus powered single seat fighters were almost immediately set the job of catching V1 flying bombs, keeping this task until early 1945. The County of Gloucestershire Squadron - by now specialists at downing the pulse-jet missiles - was moved to Bradwell Bay, Essex, to counter air launched variants - and then Mistel combinations - approaching over the North Sea.

On 30 April 1945 the Squadron disbanded at Hunsdon, only to be reborn in the Auxiliary Air Force at Filton on 10 May 1946.  Spitfire LF Mk 16es did not arrive until November 1946 though, and de Havilland Vampire Mark 1 conversion did not start until November 1948.  The twin boom jets had been displaced from Fighter Command's Odiham Wing by the arrival of Vampire F Mk 3s.  A variety of Vampire marks were used until disbandment on 10 March 1957 with the end of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force fighter squadrons. 

In 2010 501 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force is an Operations Support Squadron and part of the UK's Reserve Forces.  it is based at RAF brize Norton in Oxfordshire and is manned by part time volunteers.

To guard against problems with the Sabre, Camm produced a design that could also take the Rolls Royce Vulture. This was also an experimental engine, but despite this it would be the Vulture powered Type R Hawker Tornado that would fly first in October 1939.  Despite this initial lead, the Tornado project failed with the Vulture, which never lived up to expectations, and was eventually cancelled.

The Type N first flew on 24 February 1940 and also did not live up to expectations. The Sabre engine was unreliable, and during the testing process could only fly for ten hours between services. At low level the Typhoon was fast, but above 20,000 feet its performance fell off badly. In an ominous shadow of things to come, the prototype suffered from a failure of the rear fuselage, and only the courage of the test pilot prevented a crash. There was a real chance that the Typhoon would be cancelled entirely.

The Hawker Typhoon entered production with the Gloster Aircraft Company, which had spare capacity, but the aircraft developed yet more problems in testing.  The Sabre engine was difficult to start, with a tendency to burst into flames before even leaving the ground, and carbon monoxide from the engine leaked into the cockpit, forcing pilots to wear an oxygen mask.  Despite these problems, the first Typhoon Ia - armed with 12 .303" machine guns -  reached 56 squadron on 26 September 1941.

1942 was not a good year for the Typhoon. Several aircraft suffered from mysterious structural failures, with the tail falling off. This was eventually solved by riveting extra metal plates around the problematic joint but a number of Typhoons were shot down by flak or by other British fighters, as it could be mistaken for the Fw 190. This problem was solved towards the end of 1942 by painting back and white stripes on the underside of the wings.

Ironically, the Typhoon was only saved from cancellation by the appearance of the Fw 190, which could outperform the existing Spitfires, especially at low level. From late in 1941 the Typhoon was used to maintain low level standing patrols, designed to intercept hit and run raids being launched by Fw 190s.

Although the Typhoon proved to be very capable at this duty, it would not have become such an important aircraft if that was all it could do. Its excellent low level performance and robust construction suggested that the Typhoon might make a very good ground attack aircraft. During 1942 the Typhoon IB became standard, replaced the twelve .303in machine guns with four 20mm cannon, a much more effective weapon against ground targets. After a series of tests at Boscombe Down, the Typhoon was cleared to carry two 500lb bombs, one under each wing. In September 1942 numbers 181 and 182 Squadrons received bomb armed Typhoons, and went onto the offensive.

The Typhoon began to come into its own as a ground attack aircraft during 1943. Day and night the increasing number of Typhoon squadrons launched attacks on the German transport system in occupied France, becoming adept at destroying trains. This was a dangerous duty, operating at low level against defended targets, and 380 Typhoons were lost during 1943 (many to flak). During the same period the Typhoon shot down 103 German aircraft, including 52 of the formidable Fw 190s. This was an impressive record for an aircraft was considered to have failed as an interceptor.

Research during 1943 would prepare the Typhoon for its moment of glory in 1944 as tests confirmed that the bomb load could be increased to 1000lb under each wing, making it the first fighter to carry such a high bomb load. Perhaps more importantly, the Typhoon was cleared to carry rocket projectiles. The normal payload consisted of eight rockets, although that could be doubled by the use of a specially designed two level rocket rack. The first rocket attack was made by Typhoons of No. 181 Squadron, against Caen power station on 25 October 1943.

The Typhoon’s moment of glory came during and after D-day on 6 June 1944. The introduction of the Hawker Tempest allowed the Typhoon squadrons to concentrate entirely on their ground attack role and eighteen of the RAF’s twenty Typhoon squadrons were allocated to the 2nd Tactical Air Force. Their first task was to destroy the German radar net in Normandy. On the days before D-Day Typhoon squadrons destroyed several crucial radar stations, including the station at Jobourg that covered the Normandy beaches.

Once the landings had begun, the Typhoons turned to tactical support. The Normandy countryside was perfect for defensive tank warfare. A single German tank dug in behind the high hedges of the bocage country could seriously delay the allied advance. The standard response was to call in air support, and let a rocket armed Typhoon take out the stubborn Panzer.

By the end of June the Typhoon squadrons had relocated to France, allowing them to increase the speed with which they could respond to calls for assistance. A crucial development was the use of the “Cab Rank” or “Taxi Rank” system. This involved maintaining a standing patrol of Typhoons over the battlefield. Below them would be a Forward Air Controller, whose job it was to direct the Typhoons onto the most important target at any moment. Once a target was identified, a stream of Typhoons would descend on it.

This system came into its own during the battle of the Falaise pocket of 14-25 August. This saw the German 7th Army almost encircled around Falaise where only one narrow escape route remained. The Typhoon played a crucial role in blocking the route, destroyed bridges, blocking roads and devastating German armoured formations. The dominating image of the final German collapse in France is of rockets streaking from a Typhoon towards German armour.

The Typhoon squadrons were heavily involved as the fighting moved towards Germany. During the Battle of the Bulge, they played an important part in the allied air attacks that began on 24 December when the weather cleared, suffering heavy losses but inflicting critical damage on the German armour.

The need for the Typhoon squadrons to be located as close to the front as possible made them very vulnerable during Operation Bodenplatte, the final major Luftwaffe operation of the war. This was meant to be a knock-out blow, in which the Luftwaffe would inflict such heavy damage on the allied air forces as to knock them out of the fighting. The actual result was the reverse of this. Allied losses were heavy, but they could easily be replaced. The eight Typhoon squadrons then based at Eindhoven lost nineteen aircraft destroyed and fourteen damaged, mostly on the ground. Luftwaffe losses were also heavy, but could not be replaced. Operation Bodenplatte was the end of the Luftwaffe as a significant factor in the war.

This did not mean that Typhoon losses ended. The main danger to the low flying Typhoons was posed by anti-aircraft fire, not enemy aircraft. Between D-Day and the end of the war in Europe some 500 Typhoons were lost in action. During this period the rocket armed Typhoons destroyed countless German tanks, firing just under 200,000 rockets in action. The failed interceptor of 1942 had become the RAF’s most effective ground attack aircraft of 1944-45.

Adolf Galland was born on 19 March 1912 at Westerholt, Westphalia.  His military service began in 1933 and he saw his first combat during the Spanish Civil War where he started using Mickey Mouse as a personal emblem. 

By the beginning of the World War II Galland had been promoted to Hauptman (Captain) and flew a ground attack biplane during the invasion of Poland before transferring to fighter aircraft.

He scored his first of 103 aerial victories - all against Western allies - on 12 May 1940 and by the end of the French campaign had 14 victories.  In June 1940 Galland was made Gruppenkommandeur of III./JG  26 and in July was promoted to the rank of Major.  On 22 August 1940 Galland became Geschwaderkommodore of JG 26 before further promotion to the rank of Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-Colonel).  JG 26 under Galland become very effective unit.

In the same month Galland became the third fighter pilot to receive the Titterkreuz. On September 25 he was awarded the Eichnlaub to the Ritterkreuz for 40 kills and by the end of 1940 he had 58 victories.  In June 1941 he received the Schwerter (Swords) award to the Ritterkreuz despite being shot down twice on 21 June that year. He was one of only 27 recipients of the highest German military decoration and escaped death again on 2 July 1941 when an armour plate recently fitted to his aircraft stopped a 20mm shell from a Spitfire.

In November 1941, following his 94^th official victory Adolf Galland was chosen by Herman Goring to succeed Werner Molders as General der Jagdflieger - commander of Germany’s fighter force.  In November 1942 he was promoted to Generalmajor and become the youngest officer to attain General rank in Germany.

In 1942 he flew an early prototype of Me 262 - destined to become the world’s first operational jet fighter - and become a strong supporter of this aircraft. 

With the war progressing Galland openly and consistently criticized his superiors and in January 1945 he was relieved of his command and put under house arrest following the “Fighter Pilots Revolt”.  After that he was returned to frontline duties in disgrace and initially was assigned to command a Staffel of JG 54 located at the Courland pocket. 

However Galland never took this command but was tasked to form JV 44 in March 1945.  He was allowed to hand pick high scoring German Aces to re-train and fly Me 262s.   Flying the swept wing twin engined jet in March – April 1945 Galland scored several victories, all American planes including two heavy bombers.  His last flight was on 26 April 1945 when he was wounded during the dogfight with an America P-47 Thunderbolt. 

Galland was captured by the US Army on 14 May 1945 and was a prisoner of war until 1947.   His first job after captivity was to lecture on tactics for Britain’s Royal Air Force but later advised the air force of Argentina and made friends with British aces Bob Stanford Tuck and Douglas Bader before his death on 9 February 1996.

Jagdgeschwader 26 "Schlageter" was formed from I. and II./JG 132 stationed in area of the Rhineland that was reoccupied by Germany in 1936.  The unit was adopted by local people and was named after the nationalist hero Albert Leo Schlageter who had been shot by the occupying French in 1923 for trying to sabotage the railway used to take Rhineland coal back to France and away from freezing Rhinelanders. 

During the Battle of France JG26's Me 109s were identified with yellow noses and accounted for 160 British and French aircraft with the loss of 17 of their own pilots.  During the Battle of Britain JG26 claimed 285 British fighters but themselves lost 76 aircraft, 45 pilots killed and 29 pilots taken prisoner of war.

During 1941 and most of 1942 only two German single seat fighter units - JG2 "Richthofen" and JG26 "Schlageter" - defended the west coast of France from Abbeville and became collectively known as the Abbeville Boys to the RAF and USAAF. 

In late 1941 JG26 converted from the Bf 109 "Emil" to the Bf 109F "Fritz" which, like the Bf109G "Gustav" pictured below, featured a longer round-tipped wing.  However, as Germany was now committed to war with Russia, "Fritz" had its armament reduced to a pair of machine guns and single 20mm canon concentrated in the forward fuselage in contrast to the 20mm canon and two machine guns in the wing that had gained Emil respect over England in 1940.

A year later I and II Gruppe of JG26 began converting to the Fw 190 while other subdivisions were involved in operations against the Allies in Malta and during the Dieppe Raid as well as on the Eastern Front.  However, from D-Day onwards lack of experienced pilots, fuel and replacement aircraft reduced Jagdgeschwader's effectiveness during Operation Market Garden and the Battle of the Bulge.

The Bf 109G-6 below wears the pre-War red winged "U" badge of General Ernst Udet - World War I ace, father of the Ju87 Stuka dive bomber and Luftwaffe stalwart - who was honoured by JG 3 which converted to the "Gustav" after returning from the Russian front in early 1943.

The long range and agility of the Zero made it the best carrier based fighter in the World in 1941 but in 1942 improved Allied tactics and equipment helped them meet the renowned dogfighter on more equal terms.  Similarly, by 1944, the Zero's light armour and other design weaknesses as well as a lack of engine development in Japan's aviation industry made it inferior to the latest British and American fighters and it ended its days as a kamikaze bomber.

Although attracting no takers during its initial five year offer, Orteig's prize was renewed in 1924 and on 20 May 1927 Charles A. Lindbergh took off alone in his single 223 bhp Wright Whirlwind nine cylinder self-lubricating air cooled radial engined "Spirit of St Louis" from Roosevelt Field, Garden City, Long Island and headed for Paris without a radio and only the simplest of maps - trimmed at the edges to reduce weight.  Indeed, due to a fuel tank being installed ahead of the cramped cockpit Lindbergh had to lean out of windows on either side to see where he was going.

Most people believed that the tall 25 year old could not possibly survive the dangerous flight, which had already claimed many lives, including those of the famous French ace Charles Nungesser and his navigator, Francois Coli, who had disappeared trying to fly west from Paris. After 33 hours 30 minutes in the air Lindbergh - who had worried that nobody would meet him at Le Bourget aerodrome - received a hero's welcome and became the most famous man in the World.

Today the streamlined "Spirit of St Louis" - which was built with 10' longer wings than the standard Ryan M-2 mail monoplane it was based on - hangs in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.  It was designed by Donald A. Hall of San Diego, California, based Ryan Airlines, built in just 60 days and was named in honour of Lindbergh's financial supporters in his then home town of St Louis, Missouri.

SUPERMARINE SPITFIRE

Tongan soldiers fought and died for the British Empire in both World Wars and in 1939 Queen Salote loyally placed all the island's resources at Britain's disposal.  Indeed, Queen Salote was to charm Britons again in 1953 when she refused to shelter under an umbrella in her open processional carriage despite torrential rain during the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The three Tongan Spitfires were named Queen Salote, Prince Tungi and King Tupou 1 and the first of these - a Spitfire V with  B type wings containing two canon and two machine guns - is shown with the LO code letters of 602 City of Glasgow Squadron, whose emblem was a crowned wreath with a red lion rampant inside.