Battle of Britain

I went to England to pay attention to the celebration of 75 years since the Battle of Britain so of course the highlight of the visit to RAF Museum in Hendon was the “Battle of Britain Hall”.

The Gloster Gladiator was the first enclosed cockpit and last biplane fighter introduced into RAF service. At the outbreak of WWII, two RAF fighter squadrons were sent to France. In just ten days of hard fighting, all the aircraft had been lost. The Gladiator was involved in a number of famous actions abroad during the early war years; operations from a frozen lake in Norway, defence of Malta, and early operations in Greece and North Africa.

This is the last surviving Boulton Paul Defiant. Initially it had some success since Germans mistook it for a Hurricane or Spitfire and attacked into a massive firepower from the rear turret. The Germans learned their lesson and after a period with severe losses the type was withdrawn from daytime duties.

After the fighting in France was over the Bristol Blenheim was used in day and night attacks against German occupied ports and installations in frantic attempts to disrupt their invasion plans.

Keith Park was a New Zealander put in command of the 11 Group Fighter Command. He has been called “Defender of London 1940”. To his left are the RAF defending units and to the right the German units that took part in the Battle of Britain.

The British radar system played a vital role in the battle.

This is a Spitfire Mk I. The Spitfire was the only British fighter capable of meeting the Messerschmitt Bf109E on equal terms.

This is a Hawker Hurricane Mk I. The Hurricane played a vital role 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.

The Heinkel 111 was designed in 1934 and was ageing and inadequate in the Battle of Britain. It was vulnerable to fighter attack, being too slow to take effective avoiding action and too poorly armed to defend itself.

The Messerschmitt Bf109 remained the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter forces throughout World War Two. The Bf109E was as fast as the Spitfire, faster than the Hurricane but could out-climb both. Its worst handicap, during the Battle of Britain, was however its limited fuel capacity.

The Junkers Ju88 began life as a bomber, became a night fighter and intruder; undertook anti-shipping operations and flew long-range reconnaissance missions. It is one of the truly great multi-role combat aircraft.

The Bf110 was designed as a long range escort fighter but later converted into a night fighter and proved to be one of the most successful put into service during World War Two.

The Junkers Ju87 “Stuka”  was used to attack shipping in the Channel and went on to sink more ships than any other aircraft in history. ‘Stuka’ units then turned their attention to coastal airfields and radar stations, but by August 1940 suffered heavy losses from defending fighters.

There are more than aircraft in the Battle of Britain Hall, like pilot uniforms…

…paintings…

…and this operations room.

The huge Short Sunderland served throughout the war. Its design was so good that it remained in front line service for over twenty years and it became the last flying-boat operated by the Royal Air Force.

As a visitor to the museum you can enter the Sunderland to explore it properly.

The RAF Museum in Hendon is fantastic. Visit it next time you are in London!

Claude Grahame-White was one of the first to qualify as a pilot in England. He received licence No 6 in 1910. In 1911 he established a flying school at Hendon aerodrome.  A few years ago an original World War I Grahame-White aircraft factory hangar was relocated to Hendon  and today it houses the museum’s World War I collection – the Grahame White Factory.

Picture above is from another WWI factory, with the assembly of…

…the famous trainer Avro 504K. More than 8,000 were built during the war!

Introduced as a two-seat fighter on the Western Front in late 1915 the Royal Aircraft Factory F.E. 2b was soon outperformed by German fighter aircraft and transferred to night-time duties, which explains the paint-scheme on this aircraft.

The condition of many of the aircraft here is remarkable. This is however a flyable replica built in New Zealand using a few original parts of…

…the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8. It was the RFC/RAF’s most widely used type of Corps reconnaissance aircraft from 1917.

This Albatros D.Va is also a flyable replica aircraft  built in New Zealand in 2011, using an original contemporary Mercedes D.III engine from RAF Museum stocks.

This poster is warning of “the hun in the sun” and shows an Albatros attacking a Bristol Fighter. The museum…

…provides its visitors with an opportunity to get a good view of the working conditions for the crew of a Bristol Fighter.

The Bristol F.2b Fighter was used for offensive patrols, photographic reconnaissance, escort fighting and ground attacks.

The Sopwith Camel was the highest scoring fighter of World War One, “so famous the Arabs named an animal after it”. Nicknamed “The King of the Air Fighters” this was the WWI equivalent to the the Spitfire in WWII.

I find the quote and facts above moving. Albert Ball had shot down 44 aircraft when he died at the age of 20. War is terrible…

The Fokker D.VII is considered to be one of the outstanding fighters of World War One. It was so successful that it was the only aircraft to be singled out by the Allied Powers in the Armistice Agreement section which detailed war material to be handed over: “In erster Linie alle Apparate D.VII (especially all first line D.VII aircraft)”.

The Sopwith Dolphin’s unusual wing layout with its ‘backwards stagger’ was designed to provide the pilot with excellent all round visibility. It was also the world’s first single seat multi-gun fighter as it entered service in February 1918.

I continue my visit to the RAF Museum in Hendon, London. Bordering to the Historic Hangars is another set of hangars, housing the “Bomber Hall”.

The Fairey Battle was introduced in 1937 but lack of speed and defensive armament made it obsolescent when the war began. Due to the lack of more modern types it however remained in front line service and was the first aircraft sent to France at the outbreak of war.

This Handley Page Halifax bomber was one of the aircraft attacking Tirpitz in April 1942. At an altitude of 60 m above water ready to drop four 450 kg mines it was hit by German anti-aircraft gunners.

This Halifax was found in water 1971 and brought to the surface the year after. It has been decided to keep it this way with the exception of one engine that has been restored.

Well, this is the “Bomber Hall”…

Bomber Command suffered the highest casualty rate of any branch of the British services in World War Two and the average age of the seven-man crew in an Avro Lancaster was only 22 years.  This is an impressive aircraft made in great numbers.  Six major companies built 7377 aircraft at ten factories on two continents.

The B24 Liberator was built in greater numbers than any other US military aircraft. In India it remained in service until 1968. To the right is a Percival Prentice trainer.

This is an office with a view…

…but also a very demanding place to work; the Boeing B17G Fortress. A total of 12,731 Fortresses were manufactured of which just over two-hundred were supplied to the RAF.

This is a Messerschmitt BF109G-2. More than 33000 190’s were built and it is a legend among the WWII fighters.

The Focke Wulf Fw 190 was one of the most successful combat aircraft of World War Two. This example was originally a one-seat fighter but modified as a two-seat aircraft.

The Heinkel He162 was designed as a cheap jet fighter capable of being flown by almost anyone but it came too late to have any effect on the outcome of the war.

The Vulcan was the second of the Royal Air Force’s ‘V bombers’ and provided part of Great Britain’s nuclear deterrent force. The last Vulcans retired from operational service in 1984 and the last Vulcan flying will make its last flight this year.

The RAF Museum houses a few beautiful old hangars that were once part of the old Hendon Aerodrome. Today they are perfect for storing historic aircraft!

Curtiss Kittyhawk – more than 3 000 Kittyhawks were delivered to Commonwealth Air Forces and provided the RAF with valuable reinforcements in the Middle East at a time when British resources were overstretched.

The Hawker Hart Trainer was developed from the bomber variant as an advanced trainer for the RAF.

The Bristol Bulldog was the standard Royal Air Force fighter in the 1930’s, equipping ten of its thirteen home defence Squadrons. This example crashed in an air show in 1964 and what you can see today is the resent result of one of the most complete restoration programmes yet attempted by the RAF Museum.

The de Havilland DH9A was produced in 1918. It saw limited service in World War One but became the backbone of the Royal Air Force’s post-war colonial bombing force.

You see the tails of a Panavia Tornado and a McDonnell Douglas Phantom. In front of them from left is first a Sopwith Snipe, successor to the immortal Camel. Over 2 000 were built but since the war ended many went into storage, never to enter service. In the middle is what remains of a Gloster Gladiator that was one in a Squadron sent to Norway following the German invasion and fought during April, May and June 1940. Finally the Bulldog mentioned above.

This is a section of a Supermarine Southampton flying boat from 1925. This example was converted into a houseboat in the early 1930’s but rescued in 1967 by the RAF Museum. Restoration commenced in 1984 and lasted for eleven years with an amazing result.

A Bristol Beaufort torpedo bomber. This example is built up using parts found in the jungles of New Guinea. 

The very last version of the Spitfire was this – the F24. It has the powerful Griffon engine and a top speed of 730 km/h.

The BAC Lightning was the Royal Air Force’s first truly supersonic aircraft. The first operational squadron received its aircraft in 1960.

The “Milestones of Flight” building is huge and along one wall is…

…a tmeline of Milestones of Flight. 

The hall itself is filled with “Milestone Aircraft”…

…like the Bleriot XI, one of the first dependable, reliable and versatile monoplanes at a time when many of its contemporaries were dangerous, difficult to control and unstable.

The aircraft shown is similar to the one that crossed the English Channel in 1909 and look closely – there is Louis Blériot!

Here is the Percival Mew Gull that won the Folkestone Aero Trophy in 1937.  The Percival Mew Gull is to this day the class holder of the world record time between London – Cape Town – London.

Imagine sitting in this cockpit flying London – Cape Town – London!

Above is the beautiful Hawker Hart II. Although designed as a bomber it had a performance superior to any fighter aircraft then in existence.

The de Havilland Mosquito was made largely of wood and designed as an unarmed bomber, depending on its superior speed to escape enemy fighters.

The Messerschmitt Me262 was the only jet fighter to see air-to-air combat in World War Two.

The latest Milestone Aircraft in this hall is the Eurofighter Typhoon, thought to represent the future with its cutting edge technology.

A short distance north of London City you once found Hendon’s London Aerodrome in Colindale. Today this is the site of Royal Air Force North London Museum. It was opened by her Majesty the Queen 15th November 1972.

Admission is free! As we arrived we were met by a display of Second World War, vehicles…

…tents, equipment and staff in contemporary uniforms. 

There was also this engine…

…producing the most wonderful sound;

There is so much to explore here. One example is an exhibition of art, including…

…this watercolor by Captain William Earl Johns (the author of the Biggles books) painted in 1920 and capturing his unit – 55 Squadron – on a bombing target.

I also found this collection of “souvenirs” from Richthofen’s shot down Fokker.

But most of all this is a fantastic museum of aeroplanes and I will be back with more posts from RAF Hendon’s halls and hangars:

• Milestones of Flight
• Historic Hangars
• Bomber Hall
• Graham White Factory (WWI)
• Battle of Britain Hall