Aviation Classic Issue 08

During World War One Germany used Zeppelin airships and later Gotha aircraft to drop bombs on targets in Britain. These attacks included the serious bombing of coastal towns and London itself. War had been brought to civilians who were far removed from the battlefields. It was the Gotha raids on London that spurred the government of the clay to improve aerial defences of the capital and to retaliate in some manner. Work was quickly completed on suitable long-range bombers but before the newly-formed Royal Air Force could take the war to the heart of Germany the Armistice was signed and peace returned. In the years of peace during the 1920s there was no urgent requirement for new long-range bombers, but light bombers were introduced to quell any skirmishes that arose in the British Empire, these were mainly in the Middle East and on the Indian frontier.

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Aviation Classics Issue 07

When the prototype Vulcan VX770 first appeared at Farnborough in 1952, it rightly stole the show! A four-engined Delta-winged jet bomber, it represented a massive leap in technology over its famous Lancaster predecessor which had been a war-winning aircraft only seven years earlier - the Vulcan could fly more than twice as fast, more than twice as high and more than twice as far. Considering that it soldiered on in operational service into the 1980s, the fact that it was conceived in 1947 shows how advanced its design was for the time. Specification B35/46 was issued in January of that year, and called for a high-performance, long-range, jet-powered bomber capable of carrying and delivering a nuclear weapon. Roy Chadwick's early design work was submitted just four months later, though sadly this great British designer never lived to see the Vulcan fly. Once into RAF service the type certainly made its mark, with, for such a large aircraft, performance and manoeuvrability that can still take your breath away to this day.

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Aviation Classics Issue 06

The Battle of Britain came as no surprise to those in command. Following the declaration of war on 3 September 1939, it was just a matter of time before Nazi-Germany made a bid for further territorial gains. Despite assurances given to Britain in the years leading up to war, Adolf Hitler had a plan for a great Germany that ruled Europe. That he wanted Britain to be his partner rather than his enemy is a matter of record, but the terms suggested could never be palatable to Britain or any other western European nation. While the government of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain debated the reality of another World War, Germany was rearming. However, some politicians and industrialists were firmly convinced that a major war was a matter of a few years away. Those who were of this opinion got on with gearing up for combat.

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Aviation Classics Issue 05

It was a balmy autumnal morning at RAF Swinderby in Lincolnshire on 17 October 1984. That was the date of my passing out parade from basic recruit training in the Royal Air Force, and while we were promised the customary flypast, you weren't told what aircraft it would be carried out by. I was hoping for something 'tasty'. After the reviewing officer had arrived and taken up his position on the dais, we were ordered to present arms for the General Salute. As I positioned my rifle and its shiny bayonet right in front of me, I heard a great roar and caught sight of two Lightnings flashing overhead - what a welcome into the RAF! And so it would seem to be that, while I never served on a Lightning unit, all the times that I came into contact with the superb jet fighter would be memorable.

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