Hawker Typhoon 1B
Originally designed as a twelve-gun fighter, the Typhoon was intended to be the successor to the Hurricane. It suffered many development problems both with the airframe and …
Collection: Aircraft
Armstrong Whitworth Argosy C1
The Argosy was a variant of the civil AW650 freight aircraft. The RAF ordered fifty-six Argosies for use as medium range transport, paratroop and supply aircraft. The …
Bristol Beaufort VIII
The Bristol Beaufort was the only monoplane produced for the Royal Air Force that was designed from the start to satisfy the dual role of general reconnaissance …
de Havilland 9A
The de Havilland DH9A, known as the ‘Ninak’, was developed as a medium bomber. It was produced in 1918 and saw limited service in World War One …
Fairey FD2
In the late 1940s Britain was trailing far behind in supersonic aircraft design. To try to retrieve matters the Ministry of Supply issued a specification for a …
Hawker Hart Trainer
Used as an advanced trainer for the RAF, the Hart Trainer was developed from the Hart bomber variant. A training version allowed familiarisation of pilots with the …
Heinkel He111H-20
The Heinkel He111 provided the Luftwaffe with a fast, manoeuvrable medium bomber which it used as a spearhead for the Blitzkrieg tactics so successfully employed during the …
Messerschmitt Me 410A-1-U2
The last in a series of twin engined ‘destroyers’ manufactured by Messerschmitt, the Me410 was used by the Luftwaffe in a variety of roles. The origins of …
Short Sunderland MR5
By the start of World War Two in September 1939 three squadrons had been equipped with the Sunderlands. Seven hundred and forty-nine Sunderlands were built, and they …
Vickers FB5
The true fighter squadron was born on the 14 February 1915 when No.11 Squadron was formed at Netheravon. Completely equipped with Vickers FB5 aircraft this was the …
Messerschmitt Me 262A-2a Schwalbe (Swallow)
The most advanced fighter to see service during the Second World War, too few Messerschmitt Me 262s were deployed by the Luftwaffe at too late a stage …
Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF14
Always considered a stop-gap until more advanced aircraft came into service, the introduction of radar-equipped Meteor night fighters nevertheless provided the Royal Air Force with valuable experience …
Bristol Blenheim IV
As the Allied Ground and Air Forces faced defeat in May 1940 the RAF had to use its light bomber force in desperate daylight raids against German …
de Havilland Chipmunk
One of the RAF’s longest serving aircraft types, the Canadian designed Chipmunk entered RAF service in 1950. Chipmunks replaced the Tiger Moth as an initial pilot trainer, …
Fiat CR42 Falco
The CR42 was a delightful machine to fly and was the best biplane in service in 1940. Although the days of the biplane fighter were numbered it …