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With St Patrick’s Day just around the corner, we thought that you may like to learn about some of the Irish men and women who have served in the United Kingdom’s flying services throughout the First and Second World Wars. As pioneers, daring fighters, infiltrators and evaders, the Irish have made their mark on the history of the Royal Air Force.

Some of the first pioneering women in the early decades of powered flight came from Ireland. On 31 August 1910, journalist Lilian Bland launched her ‘Mayfly’ biplane at the Deerpark in Antrim, Northern Ireland. She is likely to have been the first woman in the world to design and build her own aircraft, as well as flying it successfully. Another early woman pilot in Britain was Sophie Peirce-Evans (Lady Mary Heath) from Knockaderry in Co Limerick. She was one of six women members of the London Aeroplane Club, earning her Royal Aero Club certificate there in 1925.

At the outbreak of war in August 1914, over 6,000 Irish volunteered for service in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). The claim for the first RFC pilot to land in France is contested between three Irish No. 2 Squadron airmen: Lt Hubert Dunsterville Harvey-Kelly, Lt Col Charles James Burke of Co Armagh and Capt Francis Fitzgerald Waldron of Co Kildare.

It was said that the carefree maverick Harvey-Kelly landed first after disregarding the route planned by Lt Col Burke, the No. 2 Squadron commander. Lt Harvey-Kelly with Obs Lt WHC Mansfield, was the first to bring down an enemy aircraft, a German Taube, on 25 August 1914. He was later awarded a Mention in Dispatches and a Distinguished Service Order. Maj Harvey-Kelly died from wounds received in aerial combat during Bloody April in 1917.

There were 37 Irish aces in the First World War, sharing over 450 aerial victories between them. Dublin’s Fg Off Henry George ‘Hal’ Crowe transferred from the Royal Irish Regiment to the RFC in late 1917, joining No. 20 Squadron on Bristol F.2bs.

The following Spring Crowe was engaged in reconnaissance and low-flying bombing duties over the Western Front as an Observer in his squadron. In July 1918, Crowe survived being shot down six times in 11 days and was awarded the Military Cross.

The citation noted his “conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty” while praising his success in aerial combat. Over six months, Crowe had achieved eight aerial victories against Fokker Dr.1 and Albatross D V fighters. He went on to serve with the RAF in Ireland and the Far East and retired as Air Cdre in 1946. Crowe’s personal papers are held within the RAF Museum’s Archive collection.

Fellow Dublin boy and fighter pilot, Wg Cdr Brendan Eamonn Fergus ‘Paddy’ Finucane, gained his wings in 1939 and flew during the Battle of Britain. While posted Flt Cdr with No. 452 (Royal Australian Air Force) Squadron, he shot down 16 aircraft while sweeping industrial targets in Nazi-occupied Northern France.

His actions in those 10 weeks (August to October 1941) earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross followed by two additional bars and a Distinguished Service Order. Finucane reached a tally of 28 confirmed kills in his RAF career; most before his 21st birthday. He was appointed Wg Cdr at No. 65 Squadron, RAF Hornchurch, in June 1942.

Less than a month later, his Spitfire BM308 was hit by machine gun fire while flying low level over Pointe du Touquet. It being too late to bale, Finucane uttered ‘This is it chaps’ and crashed into the sea. The RAF Museum is honoured to hold Wg Cdr Finucane’s logbooks on loan from his family.

A few months after Wg Cdr Finucane’s death, the RAF flew the first female secret agents into Nazi-occupied France. Irishwoman Mary Katherine ‘Maureen’ Herbert was one of the first women selected to go into France. In May 1942, she requested release from the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force and joined the Special Operations Executive (SOE).

Dubliner Patricia Maureen ‘Paddy’ O’Sullivan joined the SOE the following year. Both women carried out dangerous work as Wireless Operators. They conveyed coded messages between circuits, helped escapees and arranged parachute drops of supplies for the French Resistance.

Maureen Herbert used the code name “Claudine” and worked for the Scientist circuit. When imprisoned by the Gestapo she used her knowledge of German to divert attention and secure her cover story. She was released in 1944, a few months before Bordeaux was liberated.

Patricia O’Sullivan arrived in Limoges in March 1944 and joined the Fireman circuit as “Micheline”. She conveyed hundreds of messages in the lead up to D-Day, avoiding detection. Both women returned to Britain after the war and were awarded the Croix de Guerre.

The famous “Great Escape” from Stalag Luft III took place 75 years ago this month. Dublin bomber pilot Nicolas Tindal was one of those who played a role. Tindal became a prisoner-of-war after being shot down over France in December 1940.

His escape attempts from Stalag Luft I included hiding in a dung cart and disguising himself as a German officer. At Stalag Luft III Tindal forged documents for escapees and helped dig the tunnels.

Poignantly, he gave up his place in the famed escape to another airman, one of the 50 escapees captured and killed. He returned to Britain when the camp was liberated in 1945 and served in the RAF until 1948.

This blog highlights just a selection of the many Irish men and women who gave outstanding service, and whom we remember with pride.

For St George’s Day, we will be celebrating the contributions of English personnel to the Royal Air Force.

1 March is St David’s Day and a Welsh national day of celebration. We would like to dedicate this blog to all the brave Welsh who served in the Royal Air Force and their remarkable achievements.

Though the exact date of his death is not certain, tradition holds that Saint David died on 1 March, which is the date now marked as Saint David’s Day. In Welsh, the name David became Dafydd, which in itself became the origin for the nickname “Taffy”. We will see below that there were a few Taffys, who played an important role in the history of the Royal Air Force.

The first was not an airman, but a prime minister. One could say that David Lloyd George, Prime Minister from 1916 to 1922, was the main political supporter for the creation of the Royal Air Force. Until 1918, air power was divided between the Army and the Navy. These two services, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service, were duplicating tasks and wasting resources. This became painfully clear when the Imperial German forces launched a bombing campaign against Britain and both services were unable to stop it or retaliate in kind.

He chaired a two-man committee – with South African Jan Smuts – to investigate and report on the state of Britain’s air defences, the Air Board and the dual air forces and to make recommendations for improvements. The Smuts report advocated a single unified air force along with an air ministry to organise it. You can read this important report on our website.This report laid the foundations for the creation of the RAF on 1 April 1918.

A second Taffy is the highly decorated James Ira Thomas “Taffy” Jones DSO, MC, DFC & Bar, MM. When the First World War broke out, he joined the Royal Flying Corps as an air mechanic. As happened, quite often, ground crew were given the opportunity to become air crew. In January 1916 he started as an observer in two-seat aircraft and the following year, he became a pilot. Posted to No.74 Squadron in 1918, he was fortunate to serve under the excellent commander, Mick Mannock.

From May to August 1918, only three months, he scored 37 victories flying the Royal Aircraft Factory SE5a, making him one of the top aces in the RAF. After the war, Taffy Jones volunteered to join the RAF fight against the Bolshevik forces in Russia. He stayed with the Royal Air Force until 1936 but was recalled to active duty when the Second World War broke out. While flying an unarmed aircraft, he spotted a German aircraft and attacked it … with a flare gun!

Dr Edward George “Taffy” Bowen, CBE, FRS was a Welsh physicist who was born into a working-class family in Swansea, but displayed great intellectual capabilities at a young age. At the age of nine, he had already built a radio transmitter. He joined Swansea University aged 16, he had his master of science degree by 19, and was a professor aged 24. Although radar was invented by a team under Robert Watson-Watt, Taffy’s main contribution was that he managed to miniaturise radar from use in the famous tall Chain Home masts to smaller versions that could be fitted into aircraft, patrolling the Atlantic Ocean.

As such, his work was instrumental in winning the Battle of the Atlantic, during which Nazi German U-boats attempted to cut supplies to Britain, stopping vital arms and food reaching Britain from overseas. If that wasn’t enough, the breakthroughs which Prof Bowen made in the field of electro-magnetism during his career not only led directly and indirectly to modern air-traffic control systems, but also for devices which changed how we lived, such as cathode ray tube television sets and microwave ovens.

Wing Commander Frederick “Taffy” Higginson, OBE, DFC, DFM was a policeman’s son, born into a Welsh language-speaking family in Swansea. He joined the RAF straight from school as an apprentice in 1929, aged 16. In 1932 he was posted as a fitter / air gunner to No. 7 Bomber Squadron, but was accepted for pilot training in 1935. Flying the Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft, he scored his first victory on 17 May 1940. By late September 1940, he had shot down or damaged at least 15 enemy aircraft and had earned the Distinguished Flying Medal.

In June 1941, he was shot down and taken prisoner. However, when his German captives were distracted by overflying aircraft, he managed to escape. He remained on the run for several months, hiding his true identity, until British secret services succeeded in bringing him back, dressed as a priest. He rejoined the RAF and stayed in the Service until 1956. The Higginson Trophy, a trophy named after him and his endeavours while captured, is awarded annually to an outstanding RAF Regiment Field Squadron. To win, a squadron must have shown exceptional leadership, outstanding professionalism and sustained endeavour on both operations and exercises.

Not only the people of Wales, but also several sites in Wales are closely linked to the history of the RAF. For instance, RAF Sealand was one of the earliest civilian airfields in the country and – like Hendon – was taken over by the military in 1916 for training. Together with RAF St Athan it was a major centre for technical training, apprenticeships and maintenance.

A very important station was RAF Pembroke Dock, which at some point was the world’s largest seaplane and flying boat station and home to 99 aircraft. Its motto was Gwylio’r gorooewin o’r awyr which translates into English as “To watch the west from the air”. That summed up nicely what RAF Pembroke Dock did: its flying boats patrolled vast areas of the Atlantic Ocean. The majestic Short Sunderland flying boat, housed in Hangar 1 at the RAF Museum London, made its final flight in 1961 to Pembroke Dock, where it stayed for several years until transported over land to the RAF Museum.

11 February is International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This is why we would like to share a few stories about the incredible women who challenged public opinion and common belief in 20th century and proved their ability to push in boundaries in science and technology development.

Some of these amazing heroines are featured in our new exhibition ‘RAF: First 100 Years: 1918 – 2018’ at our London site. For example, famous Beatrice ‘Tilly’ Shilling and her story is represented in ‘Prepare’ section of our exhibition.

Beatrice ‘Tilly’ Shilling was a brilliant aeronautical engineer and expert in aircraft carburettors. She joined the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough and served as an aero-engineer for 43 years, including the period of the Second World War. She was highly respected by her colleagues for her outstanding intellect, practical skills and personal integrity.

During the Battle of France, it became clear that the Hurricanes and Spitfires of the RAF were at a distinct disadvantage when they tried to follow the enemy Messerschmitts in a steep dive. Unlike the German Daimler-Benz engines with their direct fuel injection, the Merlins had traditional carburettor fuel chambers. The negative forces induced by the dive disrupted the fuel flow to the engine.

Beatrice studied the design and came up with a simple yet effective solution. She introduced a restrictor of the fuel flow leading to the carburettor float chamber to prevent flooding. The small device, quickly nicknamed ‘Miss Shilling’s orifice’ or simply the ‘Tilly orifice’, saved a huge number of pilots’ lives. Beatrice and her team at the RAE continued to improve the carburettor and introduced a more permanent solution, featuring a sophisticated fuel control system.

Beatrice was a staunch believer in women’s equality. She was years ahead of her time and raced motorcycles as well as exercising her intellect in a traditional and male-dominated society. She stayed with the RAE until her retirement in 1969, being honoured with an OBE in recognition of her wartime work.

Pauline Gower was the daughter of MP Sir Robert Gower. After her first flying experiences with the legendary Alan Cobham, she decided to become a pilot. Her father disapproved and would not pay for flying lessons. So, Pauline decided to teach violin to fund them. A quick learner, she went solo after only seven hours instruction. Together with her friend Dorothy Spicer, she set up Air Trips, the first aviation company owned and staffed by women.

Dorothy Spicer was not only a pilot and ground engineer, she was the first woman in Britain to gain a type ‘D’ engineer’s licence, authorising her to inspect, pass out and repair both engines and airframes, being qualified to build all aspects of an aircraft – airframe and engine – from scratch. In 1936, Pauline and Dorothy (by now referred to as the ‘daring aeronauts’) presented a technical paper at the Women’s Engineering Society Annual General Meeting on the treatment of metals for aircraft engineers.

In 1938, Dorothy accepted a position with the Air Registration Board in London, becoming the first woman in the British Empire to receive a technical appointment in civil aviation. When war broke out, she took on flying work as an air observer and research assistant, and became involved in the development of a variety of new aircraft types and items of equipment. Unfortunately, shortly after the war, she died in a flying accident near Rio de Janeiro.

Using her professional reputation and family connections, Pauline advocated hiring female pilots for the newly founded Air Transport Auxiliary, a civilian organisation ferrying new and repaired aircraft from factories to operational squadrons. Overcoming the initial resistance, she was given the go-ahead to select eight female pilots. As the war progressed and these women proved their worth, more women entered. Eventually, more than 150 women served with the ATA, comprising about a tenth of the total number of ferry pilots.

Not expected to fly combat missions, the ATA pilots did not receive combat training like their RAF counterparts, but they were fully trained in meteorology, map-reading, navigation and mechanics. They were expected to fly every type of aircraft, even if they had not received training on that specific type. As such, trained to fly a Hurricane was supposed to suffice to fly a Spitfire, although they handled quite differently. ATA pilots flew through all kinds of weather without the aid of radio communications. Their navigation skills were unparalleled, allowing them to deliver more than 300,000 aircraft between 1940 and 1945.

Generally admired for her discipline and perseverance, Pauline was awarded a Member of the British Empire Medal. Maybe more importantly, she obtained the same pay for women pilot as the men received for doing the same work, which made the ATA the first government organisation in the country to do so. Like her friend Dorothy, tragedy struck shortly after the war. She died giving birth to twin sons, who survived. Her life was short, but she left an enormous legacy in regards of women’s emancipation.

Another ‘ATA girl’, Lettice Curtis was, at the time, one of the few women in Britain to hold a mathematics degree from Oxford University. She was well-known for her intelligence which was often interpreted as arrogance. She tended to be extremely impatient with slow learners and was only content with perfection. An excellent pilot, she was the first woman to deliver the heavy four-engined Lancaster bomber.

After the war, she became a technician and flight test observer at the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) research facility. This entailed flying aircraft overseas to test the airframes and systems in hot weather. In 1953, she moved to Fairey Aviation where she became a senior flight development engineer. In 1976, she took a job as an engineer with Sperry Aviation.

Her love of flying never diminished and she participated in air races. In 1949, flying a Spitfire Mk XI, she achieved the British Women’s National Record in 1949. The Spitfire was her, as for most ATA women, favourite aircraft. As she later said, ‘to sit in the cockpit of a Spitfire … was a poetry of its own’. This did not conclude her flying career: she even gained her helicopter licence at the age of 77!

Fast forward to 2019 and we meet Squadron Leader Bonnie Posselt. She first became interested in aviation in secondary school, where she was with the Combined Cadet Force as part of a RAF Section. After an undergraduate degree in Aerospace Physiology, she became fascinated about the human body in the extreme environments of aviation and space and decided to pursue a career in this, the newest of the medical specialities. At Manchester University, she joined the University Air Squadron which introduced her to life in the RAF.

On a normal day-to-day basis and based at the RAF Centre of Aviation Medicine, Bonnie deals with a variety of different topics, such as Aircrew Equipment Integration, Aircraft Accident Investigation, training aircrew how to tolerate high g-forces on the human centrifuge and hypoxia in the hypobaric chambers, as well as conducting trials on new pieces of protective equipment.

As the Space environment is similar in many ways to the aviation environment, she is also studying the effects of spaceflight to the human body and how to protect those working in that environment. As part of her training, she recently participated as the medical officer for an analogue space mission simulating Mars in the deserts of Oman. Her job was to provide medical care for all the team and to monitor the astronauts during simulated space walks in heavy space suits. Although hailed by the press as one of Britain’s first ‘space doctors’, her job explores the challenges of both space and aviation medicine.

She is currently on an exchange posting to the US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, USA. She is undertaking a PhD, investigating human performance using Helmet Mounted Displays, as used in the latest generation of jet aircraft.

Only last week, we were happy to welcome Aerospace Engineer Hania Mohiuddin to the RAF Museum London. She graduated with a BEng (Hons) in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Sheffield in 2013 and an MSc in Autonomous Vehicle Dynamics and Control from Cranfield University in 2016. Upon completion of her degree, she joined Martin-Baker as a Test Engineer conducting investigative trials of ejection seats components from various military aircraft including the F-35 Lightning II and the Eurofighter Typhoon. After working as a Systems Engineer, she currently works as a Systems Safety Engineer within the company.

As a child, she had a dream in which a jet fighter landed on her house, she climbed inside and took off. Ever since, she knew she would make aviation her life. As a young Muslim woman, she never experienced her religion or culture to be an obstacle to achieve this dream. To encourage young women like herself to overcome cultural stereotypes and pursue a career in science, she has taken on the role of a Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Ambassador. She participates in various committees of the Royal Aeronautical Society and is Chairwoman of the British Human Powered Flying Club.

During her studies in Sheffield, she co-led a team to design and manufacture a Human Powered Aircraft for which she was the test pilot. While at Cranfield, she volunteered as a ground crew for the restoration project of an English Electric Lightning T5. This involved climbing through the air intake into the belly of the aircraft to inspect the jet engines. We recently invited Hania to the Museum to talk about her experience with the Lightning as well as her work with Martin-Baker. We will be posting this video onto our social media channels in the near future.

China and the RAF: A Shared Heritage

Throughout its 100 years, the Royal Air Force has fought battles, explored new worlds and connected people across the globe. It should come as no surprise that the Royal Air Force also has a connection with China, the world’s most populated and its fourth biggest country. This is the third and final blog post which will explore and unravel a shared heritage between the RAF and China.

In the previous two parts, I introduced brave Chinese pilots, such as Clifford Louie, who flew the British Gloster Gladiator against Japanese attackers. I also explained how Allied transport aircraft had to cross the treacherous Himalayan ‘Hump’ to supply China, while Chinese and British forces fought side by side in Burma to repel the Japanese invaders. In this final blog post, I will reveal the long-forgotten story of a RAF station in China.

The RAF in China.

While the RAF protected the route over the ‘Hump’ from the Indian side, American and Chinese fighter pilots took on the protection on the Chinese side. However, even on the latter side, the RAF had a role to play, albeit a rather anecdotal one.

This is the unlikely story of a RAF fighter pilot, who came from Poland, flew in the Battle of Britain, but ended up in China. His name is Witold Urbanowicz. Already a pilot with the Polish Air Force, he was forced to escape when his country was taken over. Undiscouraged, he joined the RAF, became one of the top Aces during the Battle of Britain with 15 confirmed kills and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. Later in the war, he was assigned to the Polish Embassy in the United States.

Like most airmen, he disliked his desk job and in September 1943 succeeded in a brief attachment to the American 75th Fighter Squadron in China. This squadron was often referred to as a ‘Flying Tigers’ squadron. The ‘Flying Tigers’ were originally all-volunteer American fighter unit, flying Curtiss P-40 aircraft with painted shark faces. In fact, they had adopted this iconic look after they had seen an image of No. 112 RAF Squadron, flying the P-40 or, as the RAF called it, the Kittyhawk. A beautiful example can be seen at the RAF Museum London, painted in the original No. 112 Squadron colours, clearly showing the unit’s shark teeth.

Thousands of Chinese Army soldiers were trained in British India and later served with the X Force. The RAF trained Chinese air and ground crew, taking several of them to different corners of the British Empire. For instance, the No. 5 Middle East Torpedo School, based in Shallufa, Egypt, held several Chinese aircrew. It is confusing what the purpose could have been as the Chinese Air Force had little use for torpedo bombers. Unfortunately, our only source are some photographs kept at the RAF Museum’s Archives. Probably, other records of the No.5 METS have long been discarded. Toward the end of the war, a familiar Chinese fighter pilot reappears in British India: Clifford Louie was sent to Karachi as an instructor to Allied pilots.

More surprisingly is the existence of an RAF station in China itself. A short note in the official ‘Location of Units’ book reveals there were two RAF stations. One was in Kunming, which was the main airfield for the delivery of supplies. My previous blog post explained how RAF squadrons such as No. 31 and No. 357 Squadron were regularly flying to Kunming. The ‘Location of Units’ book shows there was an AMES unit stationed at Kunming. The AMES acronym stood for Air Ministry Experimental Station, which was a cover name for radar stations. Such radar would have been essential is dealing with air traffic flying into China, but also providing warning for any enemy incursions. The second RAF station, RAF Chengtu, also held an AMES, but was much more than that.

Chengtu is now known as Chengdu, one of the largest cities in China. It is here that the RAF created the RAF in China mission with the addition of a Staging Post, which provided servicing and refuelling for Dakota and Liberator transport aircraft. It was also at RAF Chengtu that the RAF Training Mission China was based. Under the leadership and personal tutelage of Air Vice-Marshal Lawrence A Pattinson, Chinese officers were trained according to British Staff College requirements. Lectures were given on topics such as staff duties, strategy and tactics, army co-operation, air intelligence and bombing methods.

The RAF Museum London’s Archives hold original course material, essays written by Chinese officers, as well as their critical assessments by the RAF tutors. Also held at the Archives is personnel correspondence between British and Chinese officers. Almost 75 years after the war, they reveal a close and often personal collaboration between two Allied countries. It is even more extraordinary to have such rare documents, as much has been lost in China itself.

Indeed, the capitulation of Japan in August 1945 also meant the resumption of an all-consuming struggle between the Nationalist and the Communist Party in China. In 1949, the latter took control of mainland China and on 11 November established the People’s Liberation Army Air Force. At that time, the PLAAF only had few aircraft, most of which had been taken over from the defeated Nationalist Air Force. Five of these were de Havilland Mosquito bombers, arguably the RAF’s finest aircraft of the Second World War. Chinese pilots, training to fly the Mosquito, called it Lin Daiyu after a female character of a classic Chinese novel. It was argued that like Lin Daiyu, the Mosquito was beautiful yet delicate.

The use of the last Mosquitoes concludes the use of British aircraft in China. We do not know what happened to the officers trained by the RAF and the crews who flew in and worked on these British aircraft. We know that many escaped to Taiwan, but some must have stayed in China and assisted in rebuilding the Chinese Air Force, possibly transferring the lessons learned from the RAF Training Mission in China.

In any case, China and the United Kingdom have a shared heritage. Both countries were terror bombed with great loss of civilian life, although brave airmen fought heroic battles to stop it. Although both countries are thousands of miles apart, this part of their history they share.

China and the RAF: a shared heritage

Throughout its 100 years, the Royal Air Force has fought battles, explored new worlds and connected people across the globe. It should come as no surprise that the Royal Air Force also has a connection with China, the world’s most populated and its fourth biggest country. This is the second of three blog posts which will explore and unravel a shared heritage between the RAF and China.

Part 2. The ‘Hump’

In the previous blog post we looked at the brutal war between Japan and China and how brave Chinese pilots took to the skies in British Gladiator aircraft. The British government looked the other way while such tragedies were unfolding in the Far East. This was only to change in December 1941, when Imperial Japan attacked British forces in Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong, thereby allying Britain and China. Nationalist China was to play a pivotal role in the fight against Imperial Japan. Its large, yet pitifully equipped and poorly trained army tied up much of Japan’s forces, denying their use against the British and Americans elsewhere. As such, it was imperative for the Western Allies to keep China in the ring against Japan.

However, the geographical restraints meant that Allied support was difficult to deliver. The only supply road between the British Empire and China ran across Burma, called the Burma Road. However, supplies to Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Chinese forces were cut when Japanese forces overran Burma in 1942. The British and Americans were then forced to supply China by air. It is here that the role of the Royal Air Force became vital.

It was No. 31 Squadron which helped pioneer the airlift operation over the grim razor-backed Patkai mountains, which formed the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains. This mountain range became known as ‘the Hump’. Aircraft, flying over the Hump to China, were threatened by ferocious cumulus nimbus currents, violent enough to shake them apart. The Dakotas struggled to reach sufficient height to cross the mountain passes, which were often covered in clouds.

The airstrips in India and China were nothing more than dirt or gravel runways. Air traffic control was close to non-existent and aircrew had to rely on their own navigation. In 1943, radio beacons were installed on the ground, which greatly aided navigation. However, if an aircraft crashed in the remote jungle, there was little hope of rescue for its crew.

In December 1941, No. 31 Squadron in Burma had only two serviceable Douglas DC2s. What’s more, they were the only two transport aircraft available to the RAF in the area. With Burma conquered by the Japanese army, No. 31 Squadron was pulled back to Calcutta in India. During 1942, Douglas DC3 Dakota aircraft became available to the RAF.

In 1943, C Flight of No. 353 Squadron and No. 52 Squadron were brought in to fly from RAF Dum Dum over ‘the Hump’ to Kunming in southwest China. New airfields, such as RAF Dinjan and Chabua, were constructed on former tea plantations in Assam in the northeast of India. On 25 October 1942, these airfields came under attack by 100 Japanese aircraft, destroying several aircraft on the ground. But also during the flight over the ‘Hump’ the aircraft were in danger of interception by Japanese fighter aircraft, such as the successful Nakajima Ki-43 ‘Oscar’.

During April and May 1942, less than 100 tons of supplies were delivered to China, but by July 1943, the RAF, the US Army Air Force and the civilian airline Chinese National Aviation Corporation managed to transport 5,500 tons of supplies by air. Squadrons such as No. 31 Squadron were supplanted by No. 52 and No. 357 Squadrons, flying Dakota and big four-engined Consolidated Liberator aircraft.

The total tonnage continued to increase toward the end of the war in 1945. By then, one of the pilots was no other than Arthur Chin, who had recovered from his wounds and was flying transport aircraft over the ‘Humb’. These supplies enabled Nationalist China to continue the fight against Imperial Japan. China tied up 600,000 to 800,000 Japanese troops, who might otherwise have been deployed to the Pacific and Burma.

More than that, China could now send troops into Burma itself to take the fight to the Japanese. An earlier army, called the X Force, had been forced to retreat into India together with the rest of the British and Indian forces.

However, under overall leadership of the American general Stilwell, the X Force were to make a comeback and re-enter Burma. The hard-hitting British 36th Infantry Division was added to the X Force. Cooperation was essential as this division lacked its own artillery regiment and instead relied on Chinese artillery. Meanwhile, several Chinese divisions, known as the Y Force, marched south from China itself. Together, they captured Myitkyina, thereby enabling the re-opening of the Burma Road.

Supporting the X Force from the air as well as protecting the air-ferry route over the ‘Hump’ was the British-American Northern Air Sector Force, which included three RAF Squadrons equipped with Hawker Hurricanes. The Hurricane had been gradually withdrawn as a fighter aircraft after the Battle of Britain, but in the Far East it was forced to fight more nimble, yet less sturdy Japanese Ki-43 ‘Oscars’ until late 1944.

During the race to re-open the Burma Road, British and Indian forces were fighting in south and central Burma, pushing the Japanese forces back, while a crack Commonwealth guerrilla unit, called the Chindits, was operating deep behind enemy lines. Once again, the unwavering No. 31 Squadron was involved with the supply of these Chindits.

The cooperation between China and the RAF went far beyond the airlift over ‘the Hump’ or fighting in Burma. The RAF was actively involved with the training of Chinese personnel and even had a RAF station in China, RAF Chengtu. More about this long forgotten story in our third and final blog post: the RAF in China.

China and the RAF: a shared heritage

Throughout its 100 years, the Royal Air Force has fought battles, explored new worlds and connected people across the globe. It should come as no surprise that the Royal Air Force also has a connection with China, the world’s most populated and fourth biggest country. This is the first of three blog posts which will explore and unravel a shared heritage between the RAF and China.

Part 1. The Chinese Gladiators

In 1911, the country had seen a revolutionary uprising which ended 2,000 years of dynastic rule. The newly founded Republic of China was quickly torn apart between shifting coalitions of competing provincial military leaders. Some local warlords even had their own air forces. For instance, the Fengtian Clique operated the Caudron G3, an aircraft predating the First World War. Undoubtedly obsolete, it was still in service in 1931 when Japan invaded Manchuria, the Northeast of China. The RAF Museum London has an original Caudron G3 on display in its First World War in the Air exhibition in Hangar 2.

Shortly before the Manchurian invasion, China had reunited under the Kuomintang, the Chinese Nationalist Party. This also led to a united Nationalist Chinese Air Force with several of its aircraft coming from Britain, such as the Armstrong Whitworth Atlas II, Westland Wapiti VIII, de Havilland DH.60 Moth, Armstrong Whitworth AW.XVI and the Gloster Gladiator Mk I.

In 1937 when war broke out between the Japanese Empire and Nationalist China, the Gloster Gladiator was the most modern fighter aircraft in the Royal Air Force. The Gladiator was very manoeuvrable, as were most biplanes. It had four machine guns and an enclosed cockpit, both of which were a first for an RAF fighter aircraft. However, compared to the later Hurricane or Spitfire, it was still a biplane and had a fixed landing gear, both of which limited its maximum speed.

36 Gladiators were delivered to the Nationalist Chinese Air Force. They soon proved to be a match for the Japanese fighter aircraft. Captain John ‘Buffalo’ Wong Sun-Shui had already two kills to his name when in February 1938, his unit was the first to convert to the Gloster Gladiator. Its first action led to instant success, when ‘Buffalo’ Wong managed to shoot down not one, but two Mitsubishi A5M ‘Claudes’, the best fighter aircraft available to the Japanese forces.

The next major fight took place on 13 April 1938, when a unit of Aichi D1A ‘Susie’ dive bombers with a strong fighter escort was intercepted by two formations of Gladiators. The first was led by ‘Buffalo’ Wong, who immediately shot down a ‘Susie’. In the ensuing dogfight, he managed to down two Japanese fighters, but his Gladiator received several hits, forcing an injured Wong to bail out. The second formation was led by Clifford Louie Yim-Qun, who also shot down a ‘Susie’ and forced another to crash land.

On 16 June 1938, the Gladiators were scrambled to intercept a formation of modern Mitsubishi G3M ’Nell’ bombers, the same type which was involved in the dramatic sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse near the Malayan coast in December 1941. Wong employed a difficult manoeuvre in which he attacked the bomber from below, hitting it in its unprotected belly. The ‘Nell’ exploded in mid-air, damaging Wong’s Gladiator. Meanwhile, another ‘Nell’ was taken out by another excellent pilot, who would soon become an ace, Arthur Tien Chin.

In August 1938, Arthur Chin was attacked by three ‘Claude’ fighter aircraft. Unable to shake the faster ‘Claudes’ off, he deliberately rammed one of them, sending both aircraft tumbling toward the ground. Arthur was able to bail out and parachute to safety. He returned to headquarters carrying a machine gun salvaged from his Gladiator and promptly asked if he could get ‘an aircraft to go with the machine gun’. During another dogfight in December 1939, his Gladiator was hit in the fuel tank and caught fire.

However, he stayed inside the aircraft until he was back over Chinese lines and could bail out. While recovering from his wounds at his home and nursed by his wife Eva, a Japanese air raid took place. Knowing that Arthur was immobile, Eva threw her body over him when a bomb hit the house, killing her instantly. There was nothing Arthur could do, but to hold on to her…

The war between China and Japan would rage on for another six years, but Britain and the RAF were soon to play a pivotal role in the fight against Japan. More about this in our second ‘China and the RAF’ blog post: the ‘Hump’.