Read Wings Online
Authors: Patrick Bishop
20. The Handley Page Halifax was overshadowed by the Lancaster, but it shared the workload and losses of the Strategic Air Campaign.
21. Dowding’s nickname was ‘Stuffy’, but there was nothing hidebound about his visionary approach to Britain’s air defence.
22. The Father of the Royal Air Force. ‘Boom’ Trenchard flanked by Wing Commander N. Goldsmith (l) and Middle East Air Commander Air Vice MarshalGeoffrey Salmond during a visit to Aboukir, Egypt, soon after the First World War.
23. Downtime. Pilots of 66 Squadron put on a show of relaxation for the official photographer. The men in the picture featured inTen Fighter Boys, avolume of wartime propaganda that captured the spirit of Fighter Command. ‘Bogle’ Bochie is standing beneath the propeller.
24. Instant tradition. The Wren-inspired RAF college, Cranwell, with the old huts in the foreground.
25. Sergeant pilots put their feet up while at readiness in December, 1940. In the Battle of Britain, which had just ended, NCO pilots – many from RAFVolunteer Reserve – played a prominent role.
26. Pilots of the Free French 340 Squadron in a practice scramble to their Spitfire Mark Vs.
27. Battle over Britain. Condensation trails scribble chalk marks over an English summer sky. The spire belongs to the Roman Catholic church of St Francis inMaidstone, Kent.
28. ‘Screwball’. George Beurling notches up another kill.
29. Spitfires of 241 Squadron with Mount Vesuvius in the background. Even with overwhelming air superiority, the road to Rome was slow andbloody.
30. The rocket-and-cannon-armed Hawker Typhoon excelled at attacks on small ground targets and greatly aided the Allied armies as they advanced afterD-Day.
31. Perhaps the most brilliant design to take flight from Geoffrey de Havilland’s drawing board – a DH Mosquito B1V.
32. The Lanc – greatest heavy bomber of the Second World War.