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RAF Museum London Transformation Complete

Fifty years after it was founded, an adventure and completely new experience awaits visitors to the RAF Museum, London when it re-opened its doors to the public on ‘Armed Forces Day’.

The result of a major fundraising campaign, considerable planning and hard work by all concerned in order to ensure that the Museum can be fit for purpose and better display aircraft and artefacts covering the first one-hundred years of the Royal Air Force, the now transformed RAF Museum London will make substantive use of 21st century technology in order to provide younger visitors with a hands-on experience learning adventure of the RAF past, present and future.

The visible transformation of the RAF Museum London includes a major new extension, revamping of buildings, restaurants and facilities and landscaping together with provision of three new very innovative galleries designed to show Royal Air Force history and achievement, what the Force is today and importantly, a glimpse of what it plans to be tomorrow.

An important legacy from the 50th anniversary of the Royal Air Force back in 1968, the RAF Museum Hendon first opened its doors to the public in November 1972. Now, 100 years after the RAF was founded in 1918, the former RAF Hendon airfield site which since the Museum was established there has grown organically from what had been a few aircraft hangars left behind from the period that Hendon was a very active RAF station, to one that following the new investment can claim to represent one hundred years of the Royal Air Force in all its glory.

Along with its sister Museum at RAF Cosford, the RAF Museum London has long provided visitors not only with a formidable collection of aircraft, weapons, artefacts including copious amounts of technical equipment used by the RAF throughout its history, the people who flew and those that supported them, the all-important engineering and technical skills required, training, transport, Force Protection together with an understanding of the many other logistical and other support elements required. Importantly, the RAF Museum emphasises not only on the aircraft and people but also the many deployments of the Royal Air Force in action.

Younger visitors to this now very modern and fit for purpose Museum and who might one day wish to be a part of the RAF can look forward to a fully accessible, hands-on experience and learning adventure – one that modern day visitors to museums as important as this have come to expect them to provide. The importance to the RAF of the Air Cadets and University Air Squadrons over the years is very much in evidence too and there is plenty of emphasis on STEM, Skills and engineering to be found in various parts of the Museum.

Following an investment in the region of £23 million of which £4.89 million has come from a Heritage Lottery Fund award and the rest from hard work on the part of the Trustees and organisers, grants and gifts from the public, there has been significant support from industry that combined has enabled transformation of the RAF Museum London to take place.

Over the past three years it has been a great pleasure for me to observe how the Trustees of the RAF Museum, led by Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, together and the CEO of the RAF Museum, Maggie Appleton and her very hard working staff, have put the remarkable change process together. What they have achieved in a relatively short period of time whilst the Museum remained open to the public has been remarkable.

BAE Systems was the Museum’s founding sponsor when the plan was still on the drawing board back in 2014 and suffice to say that without the significant support that this company provided along with Northrop Grumman, MBDA, Rolls-Royce, World Fuel Services and others, none of this would have been possible in such a short period of time.

As mentioned above, substantial financial support was provided from the Heritage Lottery Fund and also from the State of Kuwait and for which the RAF Museum are I know very appreciative. Neither should we ignore the support provided through the HM Treasury LIBOR funding and the MOD support together with that from a large number of trusts and foundations and public donations. Entry to the RAF Museum continues to be free.

Over the past three years the RAF Museum London site has been transformed into a world-class national museum, one that can from within its permanent and expanded aircraft exhibition and substantial investment made in the innovative new galleries, provide visitors with the inspirational story and narrative that properly describes the RAF yesterday, today and what it will no doubt be tomorrow.

The RAF Museum’s purpose has always been to tell the story of the Royal Air Force through its people, through its world-class collections of aircraft at Hendon and at the sister location on the RAF Cosford base in Shropshire. Here visitors have been able to learn about policy, politics and power but also hear stories from people that have shaped and contributed to the RAF’s hundred year achievement. The RAF Museum has always been people-focused strategy and designed to appeal not just to those that have served but also to the much wider audience from within whom might well be found the air power engineers and scientists that the nation and the Royal Air Force need for the future.

Telling the story of the first one hundred years of the world’s first independent Air Force and of how this has played such a significant role in the development of air power and the character of modern warfare is no easy task. Having watched the process in build and seen for myself complete with the new landscaping that far better reflects the historic RAF Hendon airfield as it was, having watched everything develop including new exhibitions and re-purposed historic buildings, I am left in no doubt that visitors to the ‘new’ RAF Museum will enjoy what they are able to see, feel, learn and imagine what it was like to be in the RAF and how the Force has developed through the past one hundred years.

From the first flimsy biplanes flown by members of the Royal Flying Corps and that battled it out over the trenches of Flanders in the Great War, to the RAF Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster Bomber aircraft that played such a significant role in World-War 2, through the English Electric Lightning, Phantom and Jaguar capability during the ‘Cold War’ and the Tornado GR4, Typhoon FGR4 capability that continue to be deployed today and not forgetting of course, the F-35 ‘B’ Lightning capability that is just entering service with the Royal Air Force at RAF Marham, what all these aircraft and the people involved have achieved and continue to achieve as they deploy and continue to conduct front-line operations with our NATO and other allies, will be there for all to see and better understand.

The primary role of the RAF Museum is not only to show and explore past RAF history from the beginnings to the present day and to look to the future but also to demonstrate the many and vitally important RAF trades and the people without whose loyalty, hard work and dedication behind the scenes no aircraft could ever fly.

Importantly, much emphasis has been placed to ensure that past assumptions that museums such as this are merely about reflecting the past have been completely dispelled at the new RAF Museum by the ability it now has to offer so many tantalising glimpses of what the RAF may be in the future.
Telling the story of the first one hundred years of Royal Air Force history is no easy task and the investment that has been put in is not just about new buildings, expansion and, dare I say with tongue in cheek, much needed landscaping, but also about presentation and a narrative that leads visitors through a range of interactive exhibits, personal and inspirational stories and accounts from those that have been a part of the RAF’s history including pilots, crews, families and that at the same time as they garner through the past experience of the RAF enables visitors to join in the discussion to develop a future vision.

The three new innovative galleries presented to visitors comprise:

RAF Stories: The First Hundred Years – this has been designed to reflect the history of the Royal Air Force from its creation in 1918. The gallery captures the very many roles undertaken by the RAF across its first 100 years including momentous events of the Second World War and Cold War.
The gallery also covers significant advances in technology and aircraft design through that time span and that underpin the Royal Air Force capability whilst explaining the range of its operational responsibilities, from homeland defence to that of our dependent territories right through to expeditionary operations in partnership with other nations and NATO.

RAF – First to the Future – this gallery invites visitors to explore the work of today’s Royal Air Force and of how the service is preparing for the future. The gallery is designed to connect visitors to the current and future Royal Air Force and to provide a counterpoint to the first 100 years of its history.

Importantly, this exhibition is designed to focus on the people and skills behind the technology in order to help young people connect past and present RAF and to be inspired to join the next generation of the Royal Air Force. Displays here focus on new inventions and technology, evolving as the world changes and as the Royal Air Force has and will respond within its second century. Somewhere in all this may well be found references to another first achieved by the RAF Black Arrows aerobatics team which was formed in 1956 using Hawker Hunter jets, the RAF Red Arrows Aerobatics Team that followed them flying first the Folland Gnat and since 1979, BAE Systems Hawk jets.

The RAF in an Age of Uncertainty – the gallery here is designed to tell the story of Royal Air Force operation and deployment since the liberation of the Falkland Islands in 1982, the Cold War, Operation DESERT STORM in Iraq, the liberation of Kuwait together with operations in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Libya and presumably also, the ongoing OP, Shader deployment in RAF Akrotiri over Iraq and Syria today.

The period involved here covers considerable developments in the invention and application of new technologies in weapons and weapons delivery advances, in communication and networks, ISTAR, (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) GPS and other capabilities many of which are still in use by the RAF and global partners within the NATO alliance today.

As a final comment it is worth noting that the RAF Museum team in London are also engaging local people to the north London site with a series of ‘Historic Hendon’ projects. In addition and as was equally well demonstrated in respect of its importance and a major element of the RAF Cosford Air Show two weeks ago, a new Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM) and Heritage programme is designed to inspire people of all ages to get hands-on with STEM activities, to increase engagement with and learning from the RAF Museum’s collections and stories and also to encourage young people into vital STEM careers.

Meanwhile, it is intended that the RAF Museum’s physical transformation will be complemented by RAF Stories Online, a new digital sharing project aimed at promoting conversation with a global audience and also to help connect people everywhere to the RAF story.

As a partner in RAF100, the RAF Museum’s desire to fulfil the RAF’s together with its own ambition to Inspire sits front and centre alongside the clear achievement of Commemorating the service’s first 100 years, celebrating the spirit and values of the people who have contributed to the RAF story and inspiring those who may be part of the Royal Air Force story of tomorrow.

The transformation of the Hendon site has gone a very long way to establishing the RAF Museum today as being one of the UK’s great cultural organisations. I have been left in no doubt that this is only the beginning!

3 July 2018
Salamandrine Fire

The British attempt to produce an armoured aircraft, 1917 – 1918

Although reconnaissance was the first duty to be undertaken by the aeroplane during the First World War, it was not long before aerial fighting and the attacking of the enemy on the ground followed. Soon, dedicated fighters, or ‘scouts’, were appearing, as well as bomber aircraft, such as the Airco D.H.4 and the Handley Page O/100.

It became common, especially during offensives, for British fighters to participate by strafing and bombing ‘targets of opportunity’ in the enemy trenches or further behind the lines. These included columns of troops, vehicle convoys, gun batteries and other targets.

Royal Flying Corps (RFC) fighter squadrons were used in large numbers for this work, notably during 1917 in the Third Battle of Ypres, although actual results were generally underwhelming. By the time of the Battle of Cambrai in November, the RFC was expected to support the advance attacking ground targets such as artillery positions (which could be lethal to the British tanks) and trenches.

The unarmoured Airco D.H.5s and Sopwith F.1 Camels employed suffered heavy casualties – around 30% for each day of operations. Arthur Gould Lee, flying Camels with 46 Squadron, remembered:

‘During the eleven days between November 20^th and November 30^th, when I took part in low-flying work in the Battle of Cambrai, I was engaged on only seven ground attack sorties, but on three of them I was shot down from the ground…The squadron in this period suffered seven casualties.’

As with the operations around Ypres, results were mixed, often the result of poor visibility and general confusion. Lee recalled that ‘some pilots could not find their targets, and those that did were too occupied with not crashing into each other or into the ground to concentrate on meticulous bombing.’ The battle fizzled out with little result but the RFC gained further valuable experience in attacking well-defended targets on the ground.

During the last months of 1917, the Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte began to deploy the new Junkers J.I armoured biplane. These heavy two-seaters attracted much attention and a report on them was made by the Ministry of Munitions Technical Department. It was clear that armouring an aircraft would be an advantage and the heavy losses suffered by the RFC squadrons over the year versus the apparent invulnerability of the Junkers seemed to bear this theory out.

This led to a request in November 1917 for an aircraft specifically intended for low-level work. Two machine-guns, angled downwards at a 45° angle and capable of 20° of movement, i.e. 35°-55°, were specifically requested.

In January 1918, the Technical Department asked that both a tractor and a pusher type for ground attack duties be produced for evaluation. The Royal Aircraft Factory accordingly began work on a design resembling the earlier N.E.1 night-fighter prototype.

The resulting A.E.3, (Armoured Experimental 3), later known as the Royal Aircraft Establishment Ram, was an ungainly two-seat pusher in which the observer sat in front of the pilot in an armoured nacelle, armed with two downward-firing Lewis guns for attacking enemy trenches, with a third Lewis gun provided for a measure of rearward defence.[1] Three different engines were proposed: the 200hp Hispano-Suiza (in short supply); the Sunbeam Arab (unreliable) and the Bentley B.R.2 (new and in short supply.)

The aircraft did not look promising and the Bentley-engined Ram II won no admirers when it went to France in July 1918 for evaluation. In a damning report, Captain Cyril Ridley of 201 Squadron wrote that:

‘Having flown this machine, I consider it very slow, exceedingly heavy on controls, and unmanageable for manoeuvring near the ground. I therefore consider it unsuitable for low-flying and ground-strafing work.’

His opinion was backed by Major-General John Salmond, commanding the RAF in the Field, who informed the Air Ministry that:

‘I do not consider this machine useful for any military purpose. It is very slow, heavy on controls and unmanageable for manoeuvring near the ground. It…offers a large target. I would recommend that all further work on this machine should cease.’

For the tractor design, the Department asked that a modified Sopwith Camel be provided to test the tractor configuration, fitted with armour plating.

The problem of sighting the angled machine guns was answered by the experimental station at Orfordness. A periscopic arrangement of two mirrors, one underneath the upper wing and one in front of the pilot was submitted and this system, despite attracting scepticism, was fitted to the aircraft. The two Lewis guns were angled downwards as requested, the breeches within reach of the pilot for reloading and the muzzles protruding between the undercarriage legs. Another Lewis gun was fitted to the upper-wing centre-section for self-defence.

Jack Bruce wrote that:

‘It comes as no surprise to learn that initial experiments with mirror sights were not encouraging’ and vibration from the engine would certainly have presented problems.

Two Camels were modified, although it is probable that one, serial B6218, never received any armour plating. The other, serial B9278, became the Sopwith T.F.1 (Trench Fighter 1) and both went to France for evaluation in March 1918.

However, the downward-firing armament did not meet with approval from the pilots who tested it and on 13 March, Major-General Salmond wrote to the Chief of the Air Staff:

‘It is not considered that either of these machines are of any practical value from the point of view of firing into enemy trenches or at hostile parties on the ground. The present Sopwith Camel is considered more efficient in every way for this purpose.’

A proposal for Sopwith Camels fitted with standard armament and light armour underneath the fuselage was raised at this time and although it went no further, it is known that some Camels later had seats fitted with armour-plating.[2]

However, in early 1918, Sopwith began work on an armoured derivative of its new Snipe fighter. Six prototypes were ordered and it was initially requested that three examples, like the T.F.1, be fitted with a pair of downward-firing Lewis guns and one forward-firing Vickers but the practical problems associated with this armament meant that work on this was quickly halted. However, the requirement for a ‘semi-free’ and ‘upward-firing’ Lewis gun on the upper-wing centre-section remained.

Although the resulting aircraft strongly resembled the Snipe, there was in fact very little in common between the two (the two most significant shared items were the tailskid and late-production rudder.) As was usual with Sopwith designs by this time, the engine, fuel tanks, pilot and guns were concentrated at the extreme front of the aircraft.

The armour plating protected the cockpit and the fuel and oil tanks. It was formed in to a box shape and made from 8mm plate at the front, 11mm on the underside and 6mm at the sides. The back armour was double-walled, made from sheets of 6 gauge and 11 gauge steel. However, Jack Bruce wrote that the box ‘had no basic structure of any kind, but relied on the rigidity of the armour plate for its form and structural integrity.’

The total weight of the armour was about 605lb. The engine chosen for this heavy little aircraft was the 200hp Bentley BR.2 rotary, another asset it shared with the Snipe.

The 200hp Clerget 11E was nominated to supplement the Bentley and several squadrons were to have been equipped with this version. In addition to the two Vickers guns, provision was made for the carrying of four 20lb bombs.

Work proceeded rapidly: on 9 April the name Sopwith T.F.2 Salamander[3] was approved for the aircraft and on 27 April the first prototype, serial E5429, made its maiden flight from Brooklands. Despite Sopwith’s impressive speed with the Salamander programme, it was clear that the RAF continued to harbour reservations about the aircraft, with Brigadier-General Robert Brooke-Popham writing on 19 April:

‘This machine [the Salamander] has about 500lb of armour but will probably be unsuitable owing to its poor view and the fact that it will not be very handy…I pointed out to Weir [Sir William Weir, at that time the Air Board Controller of Aeronautical Supplies] that all we had ever asked for was a lightly-armoured single-seater machine and a heavily-armoured two-seater machine, [possibly Brooke-Popham meant the Sopwith Buffalo[4]] and that the T.F.2 did not fulfil either of these two requirements.’

The first prototype, serial E5429, was sent to France for testing in May and received generally favourable reports before it was wrecked on 19 May when its pilot was forced to avoid a tender being driven to the scene of another crash on the same airfield. The main criticism seemed to be directed at the aircraft’s poor lateral control, a trait it shared with the Snipe.

Salmond reported that he thought it ‘very promising for low flying purposes’ but requested that it be fitted with balanced ailerons (as the Snipe was) and the flying and control wires duplicated for safety.

Before Salmond’s report was received, large production orders were placed for the Salamander, eventually totalling 1,400 aircraft, in anticipation of the Allied offensives planned for the spring of 1919. Apart from Sopwith, contractors included National Aircraft Factory No.1, Wolseley, Air Navigation, Glendower and Palladium Autocars.

Meanwhile, the fourth prototype was sent to France for trials in September but was immediately criticised by the RAF in the Field as it did not incorporate the balanced upper-wing ailerons that had been requested. Production Snipes had the balanced ailerons fitted (or retro-fitted) and later-production examples were given an enlarged tailfin and balanced rudder, as seen on the Snipe.

Early production was plagued by persistent problems with distortion of the armour plating, meaning the armour could not be fitted or that it induced warping in the whole of its parent airframe. A report written in 1919 found that measurements taken from the forward interplane struts to the sternpost on one aircraft differed by as much as two inches from the original design and the problem was not solved until later in the year.

A further issue was the fitting of Snipe upper-wing centre-sections in error to several early batches of around seventy Sopwith-built Salamanders. The mistake was recognised in December 1918 but any operational flying would have resulted in a number of accidents, as the safety factors were far lower than necessary: 3.1 instead of 7 for the front spar and 2.8 instead of 5 for the rear spar.

One prototype was flown at Brooklands by Captain J.W. Pinder, who made the following remarks in his report:

‘The machine is considerably heavier on controls than a Camel by reason of its weight… manoeuvrability is about the same as a Bristol Fighter and it is capable of being looped and half rolled and turns fairly fast. Below 10,000 feet it could almost be used for fighting an Albatros Scout. In dives a great speed is obtained in a short distance but the machine answers well to the controls all the while. It is also easily manageable flying along close to the ground with engine at full revolutions. The visibility is somewhat poor…the [armour] plates are…capable of stopping German armour-piercing bullets at 150ft range except at the sides; these plates (at the side) will stop any bullet hitting at an angle of over 15 degrees from the vertical and any of the plates will stop shrapnel from anti-aircraft fire.’

The Pilot’s Notes of 1920 included a brief summary:

‘The Salamander is heavy on control laterally, but is quite sensitive fore and aft, although her rudder is not very effective…The Salamander is very heavy to take out of a turn. The control column must be pulled well over to the opposite side and quite a lot of opposite rudder is required to bring her level.

Jack Bruce observed that the Salamander’s handling ‘would have made ground attack immensely hard work for its pilots.’

A distinctive and unique disruptive camouflage pattern was designed for the Salamander. It had been accepted that merging any aircraft completely with the terrain over which it was flying was impossible and attention was therefore given to making its identification and retention in view more difficult.

Exhaustive trials at Orfordness, as well as experience at the Front, showed that it was the shadow of the upper wing upon the lower which rendered biplanes conspicuous, especially on sunny days.

Accordingly, the Salamander’s lower wing was finished in a lighter tone than the upper. Dark purple-earth and green patches were applied to the upper wing in order to break up the shape and light earth-brown covered much of the lower wing. The fuselage sides were finished a light grey-green. These patches of colour were separated by black lines. The red and blue areas of the upper surface roundels were darkened and the white areas replaced with light grey-green.

Meanwhile, the lower surface roundels were made as clear as possible to minimise the chances of ‘friendly fire.’ The scheme, officially approved by the Ministry of Munitions, was applied to the third prototype, serial E5431, but the aircraft was crashed before any meaningful tests on its effectiveness could be made.

However, it is known that a number of production aircraft were finished in the scheme. There is also an interesting reference to a ‘lozenge’ camouflaged example, possibly inspired by the printed German fabric of the time. This aircraft reportedly found its way to Farnborough for comparative camouflage tests with an aircraft in the Ministry of Munitions scheme. The tests were scheduled in July 1919, by which time official interest in the Salamander had faded almost completely.

The original intention was for there to be thirteen squadrons of Salamanders in France by the end of May 1919. Five of these squadrons would have been equipped with the 200hp Clerget 11E-engined model, although this engine may have experienced teething problems, leading to delays in the formation of the Clerget squadrons. Ultimately, the Armistice was signed some ten days before the first Bentley-engined unit, 157 Squadron, was due to leave for the continent.

Although the Salamander did not see action during 1918, or indeed at any time, it is estimated that 497 were eventually built, many going straight into store. The coming of peace made an aircraft tailored to the demands of the Western Front superfluous overnight and only a handful of Salamanders found their way into RAF service. The type appeared to soldier on until at least 1922, when a few were listed as being in Egypt, possibly in connection with the Chanak Crisis with Turkey.

One aircraft was tested by the Section Technique de l’Aéronautique at Villacoublay and another was sent for evaluation to the United States, where it was based at McCook Field. The aircraft bore the warning ‘This machine is not to be flown’ underneath the cockpit, suggesting it was a victim of the distortion which afflicted so many early-production aircraft.

Although the Salamander is an ‘unknown’ in terms of the First World War, it remains an interesting historical footnote and a rare example of an RAF aircraft specifically designed for the ground attack role. It would also seem to have the dubious distinction of being the last Sopwith aircraft to enter RAF squadron service.[5]

[1] The Royal Aircraft Factory was renamed the Royal Aircraft Establishment soon after the RAF’s formation in April 1918.

[2] It is known that seat armour was available for the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 and that this armour was also fitted to Bristol F.2bs in some squadrons.

[3] The name was possibly inspired by the Salamander’s mythical ability to pass through fire unscathed.

[4] The Sopwith 3F.2 Buffalo was an armoured two-seater based on the Sopwith Bulldog. It was intended for Contact Patrol work and two prototypes were completed before the Armistice stopped further work.

[5] The Cuckoo entered RAF service in August 1918, when training commenced in Scotland. The Snipe entered service the same month. The unfortunate Dragon was never issued to a squadron.

29 June 2018
The Empire Windrush

Today is the 70th anniversary of the arrival at Tilbury Docks of nearly 500 Caribbean migrants on board HMT Empire Windrush. 22 June also sees the inaugural national Windrush Day, commemorating and celebrating the contribution of the ‘Windrush Generation’, and their descendants, to re-building Britain after the Second World War. The Empire Windrush also has a special place in the history of the Royal Air Force.

During the Second World War 6,000 African-Caribbean men and women volunteered to serve in the Royal Air Force. Their reasons for enlisting varied. Like young people all over the Empire and Commonwealth, some joined up for economic or personal reasons or to seek adventure. Others, such as Flight Lieutenant John Blair from Jamaica, came to fight tyranny:

“We knew that we were all in this together and that what was taking place around our world had to be stopped. If Germany had defeated Britain, we could have returned to slavery.”

Corporal Harold Sinson from Guyana just wanted to do his part:

“I had this feeling of being able to do something, and if the air force thought we could help, so be it, we would go.”

Corporal Sam King, another Jamaican, heard the appeal for men and turned to his mum for advice:

“She said “’My son, the mother country is at war. Go – and if you survive, you will not regret it.’”

The Black volunteers arrived in Britain with some having paid their own passages to come. Around 5,500 were engaged by the RAF as ground staff and 450 as aircrew; while 80 women joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF). The largest Caribbean contingent came from Jamaica, and in February 1945 there were over 3,700 Jamaicans in air force blue. In Africa, the colonial authorities obstructed enlistment and only 60 volunteers were accepted. A further 5,200 entered the West African Air Corps, a local auxiliary force supporting RAF units based in Nigeria, Gold Coast (Ghana), Sierra Leone and Gambia. A number of Black Britons are also known to have served.

The newcomers were joining an air force that had only abandoned the Services’ ‘colour bar’ against non-European enlistment in October 1939, but which now took racism seriously. An Air Ministry Confidential Order of June 1944 was unequivocal:

“All ranks should clearly understand that there is no colour bar in the Royal Air Force…any instant of discrimination on grounds of colour by white officers or airmen or any attitude of hostility towards personnel of non-European descent should be immediately and severely checked.”

The rules against racial discrimination introduced by the RAF in the 1940s would not be seen in the civilian workplace until the 1970s. It is also worthy of note that between 1944 and 1947, the Junior Service fought a successful battle in Whitehall against the Army and the Navy, which both favoured the re-imposition of the ‘colour bar’ in peacetime.

One hundred of the African-Caribbean volunteers became officers and 103 were decorated for gallantry or exceptional service. Of the 450 aircrew that served with the RAF or Royal Canadian Air Force, 150 were killed in combat or in flying accidents. One can only speculate what effect the loss of so many good men had on the small populations of the Caribbean islands.

After the war, most of the Black airmen and airwomen returned to Africa and the Caribbean. They were proud of having played their part in the defeat of Nazism and they carried with them the dynamic ethos of the RAF; with its emphasis on efficiency, teamwork and achievement. Many of the veterans now became lawyers and teachers, or entered politics or journalism as they sought to improve themselves and change their homelands for the better.

The arrival of HMT Empire Windrush at Tilbury on 22 June 1948 – 70 years ago today – symbolises the beginning of large-scale Caribbean immigration to Britain. It is forgotten, however, that roughly one third of the Windrush’s 492 passengers were RAF airmen returning from leave or veterans re-joining the Service.

Corporal Baron Baker, a Jamaican who had stayed in Britain after the war, greeted the ship on behalf of the Colonial Office. The former RAF Policeman would later write:

“Many of those on the Windrush were ex-servicemen, and there was an immediate understanding between us. There was a greater feeling of togetherness than I have seen in any group I have come across.”

Baker organised temporary accommodation for the newcomers in a disused air raid shelter in Clapham Common. The shelter was close to Brixton, and a number of the West Indians went there to find lodgings; thereby helping to establish the multi-racial community we know today.

Corporals Harold Sinson and Sam King were on board the Windrush that day. Reflecting on the value of his Service career Corporal King remembered that:

“The RAF taught me two things: the importance of discipline and the importance of honesty.”

Another Windrush passenger was Flight Lieutenant Vidal Dezonie who would enjoy a long career in the RAF. He wrote:

“I’ve not experienced racism in the same way as many other West Indians who came over in 1948 or the 1950s. In my experience the RAF is colour blind and free from racism.”

Vidal’s son André, became a Harrier pilot in the 1980s and was promoted to Group Captain.

While the Black airmen were fortunate to be returning to a Service that valued their skills and treated them with respect, their civilian counterparts faced a cold and often hostile reception. Discrimination in housing and employment, coupled with routine verbal and physical abuse, was endured by many Black people living in the poorest parts of Britain’s cities.

Returning to civilian life in the 1950s, the RAF veterans became ‘pathfinders’ for the African-Caribbean community. Sam King helped establish the ‘partner’ scheme in South London to help Black families buy their own houses. He later became the first Black Mayor of Southwark and was awarded the MBE. In 1958, Baron Baker found West Indians in Notting Hill, West London, being terrorised by racist gangs. Using his RAF Police training, Baker organised an effective ‘neighbourhood watch’ employing Black veterans.

British-born Paul Stephenson OBE, an airman from 1953 to 1960, states:

“Those seven years I spent in the RAF were to change my life.”

In 1963, Stephenson skilfully organised a peaceful boycott that broke the Bristol Omnibus Company’s ‘colour bar’ and opened the way for Black bus crews. Another airman was Jamaican Val McCalla, who in 1982 launched ‘The Voice’; the Black newspaper famous for its forthright campaigning style.

There are many other stories, and it is clear that the foundations of Britain’s Black community were laid in part by proud RAF veterans.

If you have enjoyed reading this blog and would like to learn more about Caribbean Servicemen and women in the RAF we have an online exhibition ‘Pilots of the Caribbean‘ and a series of YouTube films for you to view.

22 June 2018
Remarkable RAF Men in our new London exhibition

In last week’s blog we revealed several amazing stories about heroines who served in the RAF. My blog this week is devoted to four incredible men, who either influenced or recorded the history of the RAF.

Our first story focuses upon Flight Lieutenant Paul Brickhill, whose story can also be viewed in the Meet the RAF section of our ‘RAF Stories’ exhibition.

Born in Australia in 1916, Paul Chester Brickhill volunteered as a member of the Royal Australian Air Force in January 1941. In March 1943 while flying his Spitfire for the RAF he was shot down and eventually imprisoned in Stalag Luft III, the ‘escape-proof’ camp located at Sagan in Silesia.

In Stalag Luft III, Brickhill was recruited by the ‘X’ Organisation, led by ‘Big X’, Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, who masterminded the mass break-out from the camp that later became known as ‘The Great Escape’. As Brickhill suffered from claustrophobia, he couldn’t become one of the escapees. Instead he became the historian of this epic escape.

On the night 24/25 March 1944, 76 prisoners escaped the camp. 73 of them were recaptured within a few days and 50 of them were murdered by Gestapo. Only three of the initial escapees successfully reached Britain.

In 1950, Brickhill published his book ‘The Great Escape’ which immediately captured the British public’s imagination. This was followed in 1951, by his book ‘The Dam Busters’, and four years later, he finished ‘Reach for the Sky’, the biography of Group Captain Sir Douglas Bader. In 1963, a thrilling Hollywood film brought the inspirational story of the Great Escape to a worldwide audience.

His books, and the iconic feature films they inspired, defined the public’s understanding of the RAF after the Second World War and have been chosen for display at our London site alongside his own story.

Our second story is about Squadron Leader Philip Louis Ulric Cross.

Philip Louis Ulric Cross was born in 1917 in Trinidad. After the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, and the Fall of France, the young Trinidadian decided to sign up. As he said: ‘The world was drowning in fascism and America was not yet in the war, so I decided to do something about it and volunteered to fight in the RAF.’

Cross arrived in Britain in November 1941 and trained to be a Navigator for a year. He was posted to No. 139 (Jamaica) Squadron which was equipped with bombers paid for by the people of Jamaica.

As an excellent Navigator, Pilot Officer Cross was selected to join the elite Pathfinder Force, which had the difficult, dangerous and vital task of identifying and marking targets for bombing raids. Cross successfully completed 80 high-risk operations over Germany and occupied France and twice refused to be rested.

He was promoted to Flying Officer and in June 1944 awarded with the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). In 1945, he received the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in recognition of his ‘fine example of keenness and devotion to duty’ and his ‘exceptional navigational ability’.

Ulric Cross’s story is told in the Attack section of ‘RAF Stories’ – a perfect tribute to a brilliant and fearless specialist who completed numerous dangerous missions to ensure the success and eventual victory of the Allied Forces.

Our third story focuses on one of the most memorable events in the Battle of Britain. Flight Lieutenant Raymond Towers Holmes’ story is told in the Defence section of RAF Stories.

Ray Holmes joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve as a part-time flyer in 1937 before becoming a member of No. 504 Squadron in June 1940.

On 15 September 1940, No. 504 Squadron, which was based at RAF Hendon at the time, was called upon to intercept enemy bombers heading towards Central London. Sergeant Holmes leapt from a bath to take his place in his Hurricane fighter aircraft.

Holmes saw a Dornier on fire aiming for Buckingham Palace and rammed it with his Hurricane without hesitation. His Hurricane’s wing cut through the Dornier’s rear fuselage. The bomber broke up and crashed just before Victoria Station while Holmes’ Hurricane smashed into Buckingham Palace Road at the speed of 400 miles an hour. Holmes successfully bailed out of his aircraft landing in a dustbin in Pimlico without any serious injury.

The episode was witnessed by thousands of astonished Londoners and in the process Holmes became a national celebrity due to his bravery. He was invited onto BBC Radio for an interview and enjoyed an audience with the King and Queen.

Our fourth story is about legendary character, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, who gained international fame as Lawrence of Arabia. His breath-taking story is told in the Defence section of our ‘RAF Stories’ exhibition.

Born in 1888, Lawrence was an archaeologist, military officer and diplomat. Most of his activity was based in the Middle East and related to intelligence and diplomatic missions during the First World War. However, he joined the RAF twice, both times under different pseudonyms. During these periods, he helped with the development of high-speed launches that were designed to recover airmen forced down into the sea.

As a talented author able to vividly describe all the breadth and variety of his activity, Lawrence had become famous after publishing a number of successful books. In ‘The Mint’, he talks about his life in the RAF.

Visitors will be able to meet his silhouette and view the sea-plane tender that he designed just by the Mk Vb Spitfire that is on display in RAF Stories at our London site.

All these incredible stories about four remarkable men are part of our brand-new exhibition ‘RAF Stories: The First 100 years, 1918-2018’ which opens to the public in June 30, the Armed Forces Day. If you have enjoyed this blog, please visit our exhibition to learn more about these great men.

14 June 2018
Personal Stories from our new exhibitions

The RAF museum has an incredible collection of nearly 2 millions objects reflecting the history of the RAF ranging from a small can of webbing paste to two gigantic Avro Vulcans.

We are very proud of our collection; however, we perfectly understand that the RAF is not just its objects but its people – the people who make the RAF’s achievements possible. Their personal stories are the true history of the RAF and these stories provide the real basis for our exhibitions.

In this blog I would like to reveal four stories about remarkable women, whose lives are strongly connected to the RAF and who are represented in our ‘RAF Stories: The First 100 Years 1918-2018’ exhibition.

Our first story is about Noor Inayat Khan, a beautiful young woman born into the family of a Sufi Muslim teacher and raised both in London and Paris. Noor was a gentle and sensitive lady, she was a pacifist and wrote children stories. But with the outbreak of the Second World War Noor couldn’t stay un-involved. In 1940, after the German invasion to France, she escaped to London and joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. In 1942, she was recruited as a secret agent and in 1943 became the first woman radio operator dropped behind the enemy lines where she operated assisting the Parisian Resistance.

The average life expectancy of the radio operator at that time was 6 weeks. Noor managed to last three months carrying out her crucial work. Even when her circuit collapsed, and London ordered her to return, she refused to leave her French comrades. Noor continued to work demonstrating incredible heroism while remaining a vital intelligence link between London and Paris.

On 13 October 1943 Noor was betrayed, captured, interrogated and tortured. Despite the torture she refused to provide any information, not even her real name, and made two attempts to escape. As a result she was kept in chains in solitary confinement, but her spirit couldn’t be broken. She was shot on 13 September 1944 at Dachau concentration camp. Her last word was ‘Liberté’.

On 5 April 1949 she became the first Muslim woman awarded with the George Cross posthumously for her ‘most conspicuous courage, both moral and physical over a period of more than 12 months’.

The Museum is proud to tell Noor’s story in our ‘Meet the RAF’ exhibition. Personally I feel it is the perfect tribute to her fearlessness, strong spirit and valour and gives a great example of someone who embodies the best of the RAF.

My second story focuses upon Assistant Section Officer Joan Daphne Mary Pearson, who joined the WAAF in 1939. Her story is represented in the Support section of the ‘RAF Stories’ exhibition.

On 31 May 1940, at 1.15am an Avro Anson of No 500 Squadron crashed near RAF Detling, where Daphne Pearson was serving as a Corporal in the medical section. One of the bombs in the Avro Anson exploded killing the wireless operator and injuring the pilot and the other two crew members.

The explosion was very loud, and Daphne rushed to the crash site as soon as she heard it. She climbed into the wreckage of burning Anson, revived the stunned Flying Officer David Bond, releasing his parachute harness, and helped him to get clear.

Then she dragged him 27 metres away from the burning aircraft and administered first aid. Although he was in great pain, Bond gasped: ‘Go – full tanks and bombs’. When another bomb in the Anson, a 120lb, exploded, Daphne shielded the injured man with her body, saving him from the blast and shrapnel.

She stayed with the pilot until a stretcher party appeared. Then she hurried back to the burning wreck to find the fourth crew member, who was unfortunately dead. Unable to do any more, she went to the station sick bay, where she tended the wounds of the other two crew members until 3.00am. Five hours later, Pearson reported for duty as usual.

Corporal Pearson was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal on 19 July 1940 and was commissioned as an officer shortly afterwards. She was the first woman to be decorated for bravery in the Second World War and her heroism was mentioned in Parliament by Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

In 1941, her medal was replaced by a George Cross, Pearson becoming the first woman to receive the new honour.

Daphne Pearson was a modest person and after the incident she wrote to her mother saying:

“My name has been sent to the King…but I hope nothing will be done about it. When I read of the things our boys did at Dunkirk my little bit is nothing at all.”

Our RAF Stories exhibition features Daphne’s remarkable story in the Support section as it gives us a perfect example of how unprecedented courage and self-sacrifice protects and preserves human life.

My third story is about three heroic WAAF telecommunications operators, Sergeant Joan ‘Elizabeth’ Mortimer, Corporal Elspeth Henderson, Sergeant Helen Turner. They joined the RAF in different years, from 1930 to 1940, but remained at their posts during heavy German bombing of their base, RAF Biggin Hill, in late August 1940.

Although their fighter station was badly damaged, they calmly continued to receive and pass on vital signals necessary for RAF squadrons. They were all awarded the Military Medal for their bravery.

Their story is featured in our Defence section illustrating strength in the face of danger and the iron will necessary to remain on duty even while the bombs are exploding around.

Our fourth story focuses upon Corporal Lauren Smith, the great-granddaughter of a member of the WAAF during the Second World War. Lauren joined the RAF in 2009 and her story is represented in our exhibition Meet the RAF with a silhouette.

Lauren’s great-grandmother Joyce Edwards was a former Women Auxiliary Air Force cook. Her husband, John Madge, served in Bomber Command as a Rear Gunner in Lancasters sacrificing his life in 1944.

When her great-granddaughter joined the RAF, Joyce was delighted.

Sadly during Smith’s basic training her great-grandmother died suddenly, compelling her to decide whether to finish the course or to go to her great-grandmother’s funeral and be back-flighted. In one of the most difficult decisions of her life Lauren stayed and completed the course.

At her passing-out parade Lauren was proudly carrying Joyce’s photograph in her tunic pocket. As she says, in a video that can be seen in our exhibition, ‘I was thinking of Joyce and she was with me throughout my passing-out parade’.

Recently Lauren received the priceless opportunity to sit in the Rear Gunner seat of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Lancaster, the same position as her great-grandfather once sat in his aircraft.

She confessed: ‘It was such a privilege and honour to sit there, I must say. I felt a little emotional climbing into that seat, realising how daunting it must have been for him and the crew during the war.’

Each of these extraordinary women have very different stories. Stories that are woven throughout each of our new exhibitions to inspire young women who visit our London site.

In our next blog we will examine some of the great men that are represented in our new exhibitions.

In the meantime, if you have been inspired by this blog and would like to learn more about the women featured in it their stories will be on display from 30 June when we will re-open our London site to the public. We look forward to welcoming you then.

7 June 2018
A Request to the RAF Museum’s Archives

The RAF Museum has a very rich and extensive archive base with an endless number of materials diving deep into British aviation history and reflecting most of its sides and time periods. That is why we consider our Archive and Library as a big and essential part of the Museum, equally important as our exhibitions.

Sometimes we are amazed at the unexpected material found in our Archives. For example, in September 2017 our Archives and Library were approached by Gary Morton from Saffron Walden, Essex. Gary had acquired a Gyro Test Table Mk 4, but was unsure how to operate it. He was wondering if we might have some useful information.

The Gyro Test Table was an essential piece of equipment for air technicians as it was used to enable testing of suction and electrical gyroscopes under simulated flight conditions. Gyroscopes were and are the vital parts of aircraft, especially for cockpit instruments. The principle is that a spinning wheel or disc can enable its own orientation regardless of the movement of the holder. No matter in what position you hold the gyroscope it will still maintain its orientation.

Possibly the most interesting use of gyroscopes in aircraft was in unmanned aircraft or drones. Radio-controlled drones were already developed during the First World War. Between the two World Wars a gyroscope was installed in a small biplane called the Queen Bee, which was an unmanned radio-controlled gunnery target. It was needed to stabilise the aircraft in flight.

Nazi Germany developed the first practical cruise missile – the V1, of which thousands were launched against British and Belgian cities. A clever way to ‘destroy this bomb’ was discovered by the American pilot Major R. E. Turner. This involved holding the interceptor’s wingtip close to the wingtips of the V1, which would tip the wing of the drone up, override the gyroscope and send it into an out-of-control dive.

Beside their military use, gyroscopes are still used today to allow civilian aircraft to fly safely due to reliable gyroscopic instruments, such as compasses and artificial horizons.

Regarding Gary’s request about his Gyro Test Table, we happened to have in our collection a beautiful handwritten 1956 Instrument Fitter’s Course notebook by A.W. Robbins who was learning his trade at RAF Melksham.

The notebook is divided in different chapters, each on a different tool or instrument. Our curators have catalogued this notebook in such a way that each of these tools is listed in our Collection Management System. This System is our main tool for cataloguing and accessing our Collection of over one million photographs, books, film, documents and other objects. The public can access a part of our Collection through our online search engine Navigator.

Gary was happy to find out more about his Gyro Test Table and the information enabled him to get it working which you can see in this video:

It shows us what the Gyro Test Table is – a very precise machine which rocks a platform in a very precise manner, simulating flight conditions. The idea is to place a gyroscopic instrument on top of it and ascertain that the readings of the gyroscope are correct.

Gary later acquired a compass to use on his Gyro Table and tested an artificial horizon. These videos show how he was able to test:

The idea is that the gyroscopic instruments correctly display the movements created by the test table. If not, they need to be calibrated or even repaired to make sure they are absolutely accurate. Even the smallest deviation may cause an aircraft to miss its destination by several miles.

In addition to the notebook, our librarian Gordon Leith was able to find an official Air Publication on this Gyro Table. These APs are some of the most important and well sought-after documents in our Collection. They are basically manuals which were and are used by RAF personnel to maintain, repair and operate various equipment used by the RAF, ranging from fast jets to shoe laces.

Gary wrote to us explaining how he chooses to remember and commemorate 100 years of the RAF not only through the operations, the people and the aircraft, but through the equipment and systems that made these aircraft possible:

“I always hated not being able to see them. They are usually hidden away. And when they could be seen, they were lifeless. Lights should be flashing, indicators should be blinking and meters should be spinning. Just like they are in all the movies and documentaries!

Finding the instruments is easy. There must be thousands of these instruments still held in storage warehouses. But now the tricky part, and where the RAF Museum Archives are invaluable. How do you make these things work again?

Thankfully the military have a tradition of actually training their people, not only to fly things and fix things, but also to understand what these things actually do and how they work. The RAF publish these in Air Publications (AP). There is usually an AP for everything referenced against the part number which is usually printed or stamped somewhere on the instrument.

But the numbering system is unfathomable to the lay person. So then you contact the RAF Museum archivists. Give them the name of the instrument and the part number and somehow they will magic you a document that tells you how the instrument works, the circuit diagrams, the working diagrams, the interconnection details and even the definition of the required signals. I am always amazed by what they can find. Even down to hand written notes from the technicians during their training.

I have got about 20 of these instruments working again and mounted in an instrument panel. When I get round to trimming and rerouting the 200 wires on this panel you might see it an air show. Once again these instruments are doing what they were meant to.”

31 May 2018
A Cuckoo in the Nest

Our previous blogs have examined the evolution of Sopwith aircraft, from the 1½ Strutter to the Dragon. This will consider the Sopwith Cuckoo, the first purpose-designed carrier-borne torpedo bomber and its role in a still-born attack upon the German High Seas Fleet.

Between the early years of the Twentieth century and the First World War, Germany sought to challenge Britain’s naval supremacy. An ambitious warship-building plan was begun in Germany and Britain replied with its own programme.

In a bold step, Britain launched HMS Dreadnought in 1906, a battleship which rendered its predecessors obsolete. A new race to build ‘dreadnoughts’ then began in earnest, in which Britain would continue to hold an advantage though a small head-start, a policy of maintaining naval superiority and a large number of shipyards.

Germany, by contrast, was a military, land-oriented state and the shift to challenging Britain’s maritime dominance took time. Although Britain held a numerical advantage to the end of the First World War, the Royal Navy was unable to achieve a result in its small-scale and infrequent encounters with the High Seas Fleet which matched the expectations of the British press and public.

This again proved to be the case in the great ‘clash of the dreadnoughts’ off Jutland in May 1916, when neither side secured a decisive victory.
An unsatisfactory stalemate thus prevailed and with the German fleet unwilling to venture from its bases, the Admiralty turned its mind to possible solutions.

One of the more promising was a proposal made in late 1916 by Murray Sueter (heading the Admiralty’s Air Department) to attack the German High Seas Fleet at anchor with torpedo-carrying aircraft launched from a small fleet of seaplane tenders. Such aeroplanes already existed in the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) armoury, notably the Short Admiralty Type 184, a floatplane which had achieved a measure of success as a torpedo-bomber during the Dardanelles campaign.

However, the utility of a torpedo-carrying floatplane was beset with limitations. The aircraft was hampered by the weight and drag of its floats and when loaded with a weapon of any size, needed all the power available from its engine to stagger clear of the water.

A large torpedo, of considerable explosive power, was needed to seriously damage a German dreadnought, yet it was clear that there was no floatplane in 1916 capable of successfully taking-off from the North Sea and flying to Wilhelmshaven while carrying such a weapon.

The obvious answer was to use landplanes to launch the torpedoes. However, the problem of distance came into play, with no British airfields being near enough to the German bases.

A possible solution to this came with the evolution of the aircraft carrier, about which the Admiralty was enthusiastic, and much experimentation was being done in taking off and landing small aircraft aboard the converted battlecruiser HMS Furious. In its early form, Furious featured a small ‘flying-off’ deck at the bow. Somewhat fraught landings could also be made on this postage stamp-sized deck and later a small ‘landing-on’ deck was added at the stern.

Practical use of both confirmed their unsuitability for even small aircraft such as the Sopwith Pup and thinking turned towards the removal of the central superstructure altogether (turbulence alone from the superstructure was a major problem), allowing a long single flying deck to be built. This layout was clearly the future and although the conversion or building of such vessels would take time, the Admiralty envisaged that a small fleet of aircraft carriers would be available to launch a surprise air strike against Wilhelmshaven, possibly as early as 1918.

Conversion work began on several vessels including the Hawkins-class cruiser Cavendish (renamed Vindictive), the incomplete Italian liner Conte Rosso (renamed Argus), the unfinished Chilean dreadnought Almirante Cochrane (renamed Eagle) and Campania, a seaplane tender already in service. Meanwhile, HMS Hermes was laid down as a purpose-built aircraft carrier.

A similar but more modest alternative to the Wilhelmshaven idea, again sponsored by Sueter, was to attack the Austrian fleet at Cattaro (present-day Kotor) with half a dozen Short Admiralty Type 320 floatplanes, where the generally calmer conditions of the Mediterranean offered a greater scope for torpedo-carrying floatplanes.

In 1917, Sueter departed to the Mediterranean to co-ordinate the strike, which duly went ahead on 2 September, only for a gale to make it impossible to launch any of the aircraft. The raid was cancelled and never rescheduled.

During this time, to replace the 1½ Strutter, the Sopwith Aviation Company had designed and produced the Sopwith B.1, a single-seat bomber which had displayed good performance but awkward handling when sent to France in 1917.

While the B.1 did not succeed in attracting any production orders, Sopwith proceeded to design a similar aircraft which could be launched from an aircraft carrier and carry a heavy torpedo.

In due course, the Sopwith T.1 (the ‘T’ stood for Torpedo) emerged. The aircraft was (somewhat enigmatically) christened the Cuckoo, although this was not until after the Armistice. Plenty of power was required from the single engine and the 200hp Hispano-Suiza V8 was accordingly chosen. Other features included folding wings to minimise storage requirements and a split undercarriage in order to accommodate the intended 18 inch Mark IX torpedo, which weighed 1,000lb.

However, no provision was made for the aircraft to land back aboard its parent carrier and no arrester gear was designed. As a single-seater, the pilot was expected to be responsible for the flying, navigation and dropping of the torpedo himself. If the attack on Wilhelmshaven had occurred, it must be presumed that those aircraft which survived would have been forced to either ditch near their parent vessels or make forced landings elsewhere, possibly in the Netherlands.

The Cuckoo’s development was apparently hampered by the departure of Sueter to the Mediterranean and it was not until Wing Commander Longmore visited the Sopwith factory that work on the aircraft resumed.

The prototype first flew in June 1917 and official trials were completed the following month. In August, the Admiralty ordered 100 T.1s from Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering and another batch from Pegler Brothers in Doncaster. However, these companies had no experience of aircraft manufacturing and lengthy delays ensued.

In February 1918, the Admiralty ordered a further batch of Cuckoos from Blackburn Aircraft. Although the first Blackburn Cuckoos were produced the same year, early examples experienced tailskid breakages and a tendency to swing to the right on take-off, necessitating a redesign of the tail section, which caused further delay. Fairfield and Pegler only began delivery of the Cuckoo very late in the war.

Even more critical was the shortage of Hispano-Suiza engines during late 1917 and 1918, with almost all production being devoted to the Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a. Alternatives were sought and the Sunbeam Arab V8 was chosen, presumably because of its similarity to the Hispano, although the Arab was unreliable, heavier and less powerful.

Other engines were proposed, including the 200hp Wolseley Viper, which was installed in a batch of twenty aircraft designated the Sopwith Cuckoo II. These engines were also needed for the S.E.5a and very few were available for other aircraft. Similarly, the 275hp Rolls-Royce Falcon III was considered for the Sopwith Cuckoo III but Falcon manufacture lagged far behind the requirements of even the Bristol Fighter and these engine ramifications, a story familiar to many aircraft of the era, caused further production delays.

Meanwhile, Admiral Sir David Beatty, commanding the British Grand Fleet, continued to hope that an attack would be made in 1918, writing:

‘As many machines as possible, and not less than 121, to be carried in specially fitted carrier ships to within not more than one hour’s fly from Wilhelmshaven. This rendezvous to be reached at or before daylight. Planes to be flown from the ships in flights of 40, so as to reach their objective in strong forces in close succession.’

These numbers were impractical at the time; it should be borne in mind that Pearl Harbor was attacked by 353 aircraft of which 40 were torpedo bombers.

An attack in 1919 would probably have used three aircraft carriers: Argus (twenty aircraft), Furious (perhaps twelve) and Vindictive (perhaps eight). If Eagle and Hermes had been completed in time, they would have added around another 40 aircraft.

As the attack was planned to take place at dawn, a special paint scheme was formulated for the participating Cuckoos. A matte light sea-grey overall scheme was chosen, with the blue areas of the national markings being painted the same shade of grey, leaving only a thin blue outline on the fuselage roundels.

Much to Beatty’s frustration, the proposed attack never materialised. Only a few Cuckoos had entered service by the Armistice and the carriers for them were still under construction.

The nearest operation to the Wilhelmshaven proposal was the launching of seven Sopwith Camels from Furious for the raid on the Zeppelin airship base at Tondern in July 1918.

The Cuckoo entered limited post-war RAF service. Two (reportedly successful) mock attacks by small formations of Cuckoos were made on British battleships and others were embarked on HMS Eagle in 1920.

Some pilots were reportedly critical of the Sopwith’s lethargic performance and lack of responsiveness, making it vulnerable to interception, although this was scarcely a primary consideration at the time of its conception. The Cuckoo was declared obsolete in 1923 and was replaced in service by the Blackburn Dart.

Furious underwent further modification during 1918 and after the First World War was completely rebuilt with a full-length flying deck. She enjoyed a long career, even launching Fairey Barracudas against the Tirpitz in Operations Tungsten, Mascot and Goodwood in 1944. She was finally broken up in 1954.

Campania had a small flying-off deck and space for a limited complement of aircraft. She sank at anchor during a storm in November 1918.

Argus was not completed before the Armistice. Elderly by the late 1930s and too small to be a front-line vessel, she was nevertheless re-commissioned for service in 1938, spending most of the Second World War ferrying aircraft to Malta and serving as an escort carrier. She survived to be broken up in 1946.

Vindictive had been converted from a carrier to a repair ship by the Second World War, in which capacity she served until being broken up in 1946.

Hermes served in the Mediterranean and on the China Station during the inter-war years. She had a somewhat brief and chequered career during the Second World War, in which she was involved in the attack upon the French fleet at Dakar, before being sunk by Japanese D3A dive bombers off Sri Lanka in April 1942.

HMS Eagle saw extensive service before and during the Second World War, only to be torpedoed and sunk in 1942 while escorting Convoy Pedestal to Malta.

Glorious and Courageous, half-sisters of Furious, were only completed as aircraft carriers in the 1920s. Courageous was sunk by a U-boat in 1939 and Glorious succumbed to the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau off Norway the following year.

The planned aerial attack on the High Seas Fleet is now largely forgotten and the Cuckoo little more than an aviation footnote.

It is interesting to note, however, that the roots of the Fleet Air Arm’s raid on the Italian Fleet at Taranto in 1940 lay in the last years of the First World War. Final proof would come a year after Taranto, when the Japanese infamously showed that with enough aircraft, it was possible to deliver a devastating strike on a fleet in its own harbour.

22 May 2018
75th Anniversary of The Dambusters

This year, 2018, marks not only a 100 years of the RAF but also the 75th anniversary of Operation CHASTISE, the legendary Dams Raid, one of the most famous RAF’s raids. This daring raid resulted in a tremendous success for the Allies and it is often considered as one of the first real signs of the tide turning against the German war machine during the Second World War.

On 17 May 1943, the Air Ministry published the press release stating the following:

‘In the early hours of this (Monday) morning a force of Lancasters of Bomber Command led by Wing Commander G. P. Gibson, D.S.O, D.F.C., attacked with mines the dams at the Möhne and Sorpe reservoirs. These control two-thirds of the water storage capacity of the Ruhr basin. Reconnaissance later established that the Möhne Dam had been breached over a length of 100 yards and that the power station below had been swept away by the resulting floods. The Eder Dam, which controls head waters of the Weser and Fulda valleys and operates several power stations, was also attacked and was reported as breached…’

The idea to target the dams rather than other military facilities first appeared in 1938, when war with Germany already seemed unavoidable. Destroying the dams would most-likely damage or even paralyse German industry and cause havoc due to a significant flood. It was seen equal to ‘the destruction of a considerable number of targets further down the chain of the industrial energy system’. However, this brilliant idea had a long list of obstacles, including the very limited accuracy of strategic bombing at that time.

In 1940 Barnes Wallis, a Vickers aircraft company designer, who had designed many aircraft including the Wellington bomber, joined the project.

The aerial assault on most German dams was quite difficult due to the anti-aircraft gun batteries defending them. Breaching a dam from the air would require a large explosive charge dropped from a great height. But Wallis worked on the principle that a smaller charge might successfully breach a dam if it was detonated close to the dam’s wall at very low level. That is how the idea of the ‘bouncing bomb’ also known by the code name ‘UPKEEP’ came into being.

The bombs detonate when they hit the target. The ‘bouncing bomb’ was in fact a mine. Once dropped, it would bounce across the dam’s waters, roll down the wall and sink below the surface to a given depth which was the triggering event for the explosion.

Testing proved successful and alongside the modification of Lancaster the project finally progressed to the stage of actual raid planning in early 1943.

The Operation was called CHASTISE. A new secret Special Duties squadron, initially called Squadron X, and later renamed to No 617 Squadron was formed within the RAF. The aircrew was assembled from various RAF Squadrons, with each individual recruited for their degree of experience and from varying ranks.

On 15 March 1943, 24-years old Wing Commander Guy Penrose Gibson, DFC and bar, was transferred from No 107 Squadron to become the Commander of new No 617 Squadron. Guy Gibson had already earned himself a reputation first in Bomber Command and then in Fighter Command piloting Beaufighter Night Fighters, but the information about his first secret mission was quite vague.

At first, he feared that the target would be the warship Tirpitz. Tirpitz indeed became one of 617 Squadrons later missions. But their first target was Möhne, Eder and Sorpe Dams.

On 16 May 1943 at 9.39pm Gibson and the first flight of three Lancasters set off from RAF Scampton, forming the first attack wave for Möhne and Eder Dams. The other two waves took off shortly afterwards.

One of the Lancasters piloted by Flight Lieutenant William Astell, was shot at north-west of Dorsten and crashed killing all 7 members of the crew.

The first wave arrived at the Möhne Dam shortly followed by the second. Guy Gibson (“G for George”) flew the first attack and the first ‘UPKEEP’ was dropped at 12.28am on 17 May. It exploded close to the dam and caused damage but didn’t breach it.

The Second attack was led by Flight Lieutenant Hopgood (“M for Mother”), the second ‘UPKEEP’ was dropped late, bouncing over the dam. The Lancaster was shot at and went down in flames.

Flight Lieutenant Martin (“P for Popsie”) flew the third attack with Guy Gibson flying alongside and drawing some fire away. Their ‘UPKEEP’ was deployed but failed to breach the dam also.

The fourth attack led by Squadron Leader Young (“A for Apple”) didn’t breach the dam, but most probably damaged the structure. And finally, Squadron Leader David Maltby (“J for Johnny”) breached the dam in the fifth attack, when this ‘UPKEEP’ was dropped as planned.

The remaining aircraft turned to Eder Dam which was just 60 miles away. The Eder Dam was breached on the third attempt by Pilot Officer Lesley Knight.

The second attack wave lost two of their aircraft on the way. They were damaged and returned to RAF Scampton. The remaining aircraft attacked the Sorpe Dam, caused some damage but 617 Squadron was not successful in breaching it.

Two out of five aircraft in the third attack wave crashed on their way and one was forced to return to base because of the technical issues. The two remaining aircraft deployed their mines, but no damage was done.

The breach of Möhne Dam resulted in a 20 mile flood and 1,200 people German, military, and European prisoners of war, died. The breach of the Eder Dam caused a 30-foot tidal wave, which swept away power stations and pumping stations. Water supplies and transport were severely effected by flooding but the results were not as disruptive as the Air Ministry had hoped. However, it was a successful strike seen as ‘the greatest and the most far-reaching destruction yet wreaked on Germany in a single night’.

Next morning the newspapers published the dramatic images of the breached dams, praising the fearless pilots. 34 survivors were decorated and Guy Gibson was awarded with Victoria Cross. 617 Squadron was established as the ‘Special Operation’ Squadron and took as its motto the phrase : “après moi le deluge” (After me the flood).

The legendary Dams Raid, the impossible mission which was achieved due to unprecedented courage and sacrifice, was immortalised by much-loved movie The Dam Busters starring Michael Redgrave as Dr. Barnes Wallis and Richard Todd as Wing Commander Guy Gibson. The film was a major success and featured the enormously popular and powerful Dambusters March.

This week to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Dambusters the RAF Museum will host a very special outdoor film screening of this very film provided by The Luna Cinema at our London site.

The screening will be the culmination of a week of events celebrating the Dams Raid including talks and lectures sharing the Dambusters legacy, family workshops on dams’ building, plus the rare opportunity to marvel at the flypast of the amazing Dambusters’ aircraft, the Avro Lancaster as it passes over the Museum. Details of these events can be found at www.rafmuseum.org/whatson

If you would like to learn more about the history of Operation CHASTISE and 617 Squadron you can also explore our Online Exhibition and three commissioned podcasts devoted to the Dams Raid.

In the meantime, we look forward to welcoming you to our London site this weekend as we celebrate and commemorate one the most epic aerial campaigns of the Second World War and of RAF history.

16 May 2018
RAF Day 2018

Every year in May we close the Museum’s London site for one day to welcome RAF veterans and current serving personnel and to celebrate and commemorate with them their precious legacy. In 2018, the RAF’s Centenary year, this very special reunion happened on 10 May.

This day is a brilliant and unique opportunity for all staff at the Museum to say BIG THANK YOU to all RAF personnel from the past and present – as well as future members of the Service. As a Museum dedicated to the RAF we can’t be grateful enough for all the help, support, invaluable objects and incredible real-life stories which the RAF provides for us so that we can share them with our visitors.

Over 1,000 extraordinary people, who served or are currently serving in the RAF, came from around the world to join this glorious celebration. Our audience was very broad and diverse from grey-haired and decorated war heroes to young cadets. But they all had one thing in common, the RAF.

Each of our guests had the thrilling opportunity of a special preview of our brand-new exhibitions, that will be opening on 30 June. Our new exhibitions are designed specifically to convey the RAF’s story and to bring it to life through real-life stories and our unique collection.

Museum CEO Maggie Appleton explained: ‘We do have an audience which is mainly beginners in terms of understanding the RAF, so it’s important that we talk in an accessible way and everything that we are sharing is based on tip-top research and the story is pinned to today so it’s grounded in the reality’.

Visitors, on the day, were excited and inspired by the new galleries. They appreciated our forward-thinking approach and the authenticity of all the objects as well as the interactive experiences available on the site.

Special guest Deputy Commander Operations, Air Marshal Stuart Atha remarked: ‘Telling stories is what the RAF Museum is all about and I think that the RAF Museum has done us proud at the way they have translated the RAF’s 100 years of history into the fantastic spaces that you see today.’

Guests were also treated to a breath-taking musical performance from The Jive Aces accompanied by two of The Satin Dollz, The Duettes and one half of Twin Swing near the Sunderland Flying Boat. Their rip-roaring and energetic music and much-loved songs were so irresistibly infectious, that many of our guests couldn’t help but rock up on the dance floor switching different dance styles to the amazement of the younger generations.

The celebration also featured the Presentation of the Bomber Command Association National Standard which very symbolically happened under our amazing Avro Lancaster. The presentation gathered a lot of current and former Bomber Command personnel, including the true war heroes, who flied Lancasters as young as 17.

As a RAF Museum Trustee and former Harrier Force Commander Malcolm White said: ‘To parade the Standard under the Lancaster recognises the past and but in our view, cements the future. In that respect for everyone who served in Bomber Command and indeed those at the Museum who have supported the Association this is a very special moment’.

The celebration also provided all our guests with a precious chance to meet their colleges and to catch up with them. Maybe not 100, but at least 60-70 years of the RAF was represented on this day on our site by the real-life characters and their amazing stories.

It was, and will continue to be, a unique and invaluable privilege for us to welcome all of them and turn the celebration in a truly memorable and sentimental gathering. As Air Marshal Stuart Atha stated: ‘The RAF 100 is about you. It is about saluting you, thanking you for your service, and commemorating those who have sacrificed their lives’.

The RAF Museum’s RAF Centenary Programme is supported by National Lottery Players through the Heritage Lottery Fund.

11 May 2018
The ‘Millionaires Squadron’ of Hendon Airfield

Last week, to celebrate the arrival of London’s two new Gate Guardians, we told you the story of Ray Holmes and his Hawker Hurricane which saved the day and Buckingham Palace on 15 September 1940.

Our second Gate Guardian is a Supermarine Spitfire MK XVI liveried in colours of 601 Squadron. The Squadron that was based at our London site when it was Hendon airfield. The Squadron was stationed here from 1927 to 1939 and from 1946 to 1949.

601 Squadron was initially called the ‘Millionaires Squadron’ as it was formed on 14 October 1925 from a group of aristocratic and very ‘well-heeled’ young men. Most of them could afford to have their own aircraft and had previously been amateur pilots.

The idea to create a new Reserve (Auxiliary) Squadron of the RAF came to its first Commanding Officer Lord Edward Arthur ‘Ned’ Grosvenor at White’s Gentlemen Club. The legend is that Lord Grosvenor would test his potential recruits by plying them with alcohol to see if they would demonstrate some inappropriate behaviour while under the influence. Not unsurprisingly, many of them passed with flying colours.

However, the young millionaires didn’t pay much attention to the strict military discipline anyway. It was their tradition to line their uniform and helmet with silk, wear blue ties instead of black ones and to use bright red socks. To reflect this, when fully opened, the table cloths in our new restaurant Claude’s will be decorated with red socks and a history of 601 Squadron.

Soon after its foundation, from 1927 and until the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, 601 Squadron was based on Hendon airfield. The first aircraft squadron members flew was the Avro 504, a two-seat training aircraft renowned for its stability and reliability. You can see one in our the First World War in the Air exhibition in London, In Hangar 2.

Young pilots considered the aircraft as ‘generally idiot-proof’ and to be so safe that ‘it could only barely kill you’. One of the regular competitions amongst these daring young men was the challenge for a pilot to take off in the rear cockpit, and retrieve a handkerchief from the front cockpit, before landing with it in their pocket – all in the fastest possible time.

As many of the squadron members were very wealthy men, they could afford to make some alterations to their aircraft. For example, Sir Dermot Boyle, who was then just a Flight Lieutenant, altered his Avro 504 to use a Lynx-Avro engine. One of the best pilots in the RAF, he often put on a show for his Squadron, letting the tail of the Lynx-Avro rise off the ground until the propeller was cutting the grass during take-off.

With the outbreak of the war, 601 Squadron became a day fighter unit in 1940 and flew both the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire. At that time the Squadron was as cosmopolitan as all other squadrons, as new members were recruited from all the parts of the Commonwealth to cover casualties and promotions.

One of the more famous squadron members was Sir John William Maxwell ‘Max’ Aitken, a Second Baronet, who flew with 601 Squadron from 1936 – 1940. Initially a Pilot Officer, he rose to Commanding Officer in June 1940, before leaving the Squadron. A British Flying Ace with 16 victories, he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1940 and Distinguished Service order in 1942 and later oversaw RAF operations in the Middle East and RAF Coastal Command, rising to the eventual rank of Group Captain.

After the Second World War 601 Squadron returned to RAF Hendon again for a short period from 1946 – 1949.

In 1946, it was reformed as a Fighter Squadron within the Auxiliary Air Force, and was initially equipped with the Spitfire, followed by the jet-powered De Havilland Vampire F3. One of the De Havilland Vampires of 601 Squadron is exhibited at our Historic Hangars (Hangar 3) at our London site. This aircraft served at North Weald RAF base, where 601 Squadron was moved to in 1949, after leaving RAF Hendon. You can still see the evidence of its service, with the iconic ‘Flying Sword’ insignia still featured on the nose of the aircraft. The symbol of 601 Squadron was designed by Lord Grosvenor and represented the scarlet ‘Sword of London piercing a pilot’s wings’.

In 1957, due to the defence budget cuts, 601 Squadron, alongside all other Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons, was officially disbanded. The last aircraft flown by the Squadron was a Gloster Meteor F8, the first British jet fighter and the only jet fighter used during the Second World War. One of these fascinating aircraft is also displayed in Historic Hangars (Hangar 3) at our London site.

601 Squadron flew several types of Spitfire aircraft, including Supermarine Spitfire LF XVIE. One such aircraft is also in our collection in Historic Hangars as part of the Spitfire Experience. For a small charge any visitor can climb inside its cockpit and get a feel for what was it like to pilot this magnificent aircraft.

Another type is the Supermarine Spitfire MK XVI, the same as our Gate Guardian which welcomes all our visitors to our London site and commemorates the famous residents of RAF Hendon airfield – the ‘Millionaires Squadron’.

If you would like to learn more about 601 Squadron we would recommend reading ‘The Millionaires’ Squadron : The Remarkable Story of 601 Squadron and the Flying Sword’ by Tom Moulson, available from Pen and Sword Books.

3 May 2018
The Gate Guardians of the RAF Museum London

This week we have welcomed back to our London site our amazing Gate Guardians, as part of London’s RAF Centenary Transformation Programme. If you visited us before 2016 you may remember the Hawker Hurricane MK 1 and the Supermarine Spitfire MK XVI we had as the Gate Guardians on our London site. Now they both are back after refurbishment, freshly painted and ready to welcome all our visitors as they arrive at our site.

Both of our Gate Guardians are the replicas of the iconic aircraft whose glorious history reflects the rich and diverse story of the RAF Hendon, formerly one of the U.K’s oldest airfields, and now the home of our London site.

Our Supermarine Spitfire MK XVI is liveried in the colours of No. 601 Squadron which was based at RAF Hendon from 1927 to 1939 and from 1946 to 1949. The Hawker Hurricane MK 1 is decorated in the colours of No 504 Squadron as flown from RAF Hendon by Sergeant Ray Holmes during the summer of 1940, the Battle of Britain. In this blog post, we would like to tell you Ray Holmes’ fascinating and amazing story.

Raymond Towers Holmes was born in 20 August 1914 in Merseyside and worked as a news reporter by trade. In 1937, he became a part-time flyer in the RAF Volunteer Reserve. With the outbreak of the Second World War Ray was called up and joined No 504 Squadron in June 1940.

On Sunday 15 September 1940, in the morning, 26-year-old Sergeant Ray Holmes was taking a bath when a RADAR station on the south coast picked up a sudden activity. One hundred Dornier bombers, with a heavy fighter escort appeared on the screens crossing the English Channel, heading to London. As the telephone rang calling the Squadron at readiness, Ray had time only to pull on his blue sport shirt and the uniform trousers and run to his car. Less than five minutes after the alert No 504 Squadron was airborne.

For Sergeant Holmes this was his first air combat and he was thrilled and excited that he was flying his Hawker Hurricane MK1 right to the Battle. While attacking his first Dornier, he noticed another enemy aircraft, also Dornier, on fire heading directly to Buckingham Palace.

As his ammunition had run out, he understood that there was only one thing that he could do to prevent catastrophe, even though it would be a suicidal mission. As Ray said himself: “His aeroplane looked so flimsy, I didn’t think of it as solid and substantial. I just went on and hit it for six”.

His Hurricane rammed the Dornier, cutting through its rear fuselage, breaking the bomber up right over the Hyde Park Corner in a plain sight of hundreds of citizens. The Dornier’s forward fuselage section crashed near Victoria Station, the tail landed on a rooftop in the Vauxhall Bridge Road. Two of the five crew members survived and were captured.

Ray Holmes lost control over his Hurricane and had to bale out near Pimlico. He landed without serious injuries right into an open dustbin in a garden on Hugh Street. Seeing two young ladies in the neighbourhood garden looking at him he leapt the fence and kissed them both.

His Hurricane smashed into Buckingham Palace Road at the speed of 400 miles an hour. So, when Sergeant Holmes arrived to look at his aircraft, straight after his landing, there wasn’t much left. It was just a pile of scattered scrap metal smoking in hole in the ground. He picked up a small piece of its Merlin engine as a souvenir, before he was pulled to the Orange Brewery on Pimlico Road for some cheers and brandy from appreciative Londoners.

On that day, No 504 Squadron destroyed 5 enemy aircraft and damaged 4. Sergeant Ray Holmes became a celebrity and a hero of one of the most famous incidents of the Battle of Britain. He was invited to meet the King and Queen, interviewed on BBC Radio and received more than a hundred letters from the public – including a telegram from Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands, who had witnessed the episode herself, praising his bravery. Ray survived the war, left the RAF service as a Flight Lieutenant and became a journalist.

He died on 27 June 2005 at the age of 90. The year before, in 2004, his Hurricane was excavated from Buckingham Palace Road. The control column with its gun button still set on Fire mode and the part of the Hurricane’s engine are currently on display in the reception area of Historic Hangars (Hangar 3) at our London site.

In his honour a beautiful replica of his Hawker Hurricane MK 1 in the colours of No 504 Squadron is now on display at our site as a Gate Guardian – the perfect reminder of Ray Holmes’ bravery and of an amazing story from the RAF’s breath-taking history.

27 April 2018
The RAF Commemorative Anthology

One of the most important roles that the RAF Museum has is to share its knowledge of RAF history through its people and collections. In this, the RAF’s Centenary year, the Museum has decided to release its very own RAF anthology – a very special one.

We have teamed up with the Air Historical Branch and an award-wining publishers Extraordinary Editions Limited to launch the RAF Commemorative Anthology, a handmade, limited edition of 1,500 books of which 250 are signed exemplary copies.

As the RAF’s 100-years history is incredibly rich and diverse, we have brought together a large selection of fascinating and breath-takin materials, mission reports, photographs, letters, diaries, artworks, to reflect and illustrate all 100 glorious years of service and sacrifice, courage, valour and honour. These documents have been scanned and recreated at full size and in full colour, when available. Each extract has been included to introduce an important piece of RAF history or relevant insight.

For example, our RAF Commemorative Anthology contains probably the most important document in the RAF history fully reproduced – the ‘Report by General Smuts on Air Organisation and the Direction of Aerial operations’.
This very document, submitted to the War Cabinet on 17 August 1917, laid the foundation for the birth of the first independent air force in the world – The Royal Air Force.

At that time the U.K’s air force consisted of two organisations the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).
Both organisations entered the First World War, the first war where the air force was ever used, and they had continued to develop and expand as the war progressed. The RFC, apart from reconnaissance work and artillery spotting, was the first air service to start bombing raids. The RNAS, as well as launching aircraft to strike land targets and directing naval gunnery fire, was the first air service to start to attacking enemy ships by using torpedoes.

As both organisations were expanding incredibly rapidly, this produced a number of challenges for the country while fighting the First World War. In 1917, Prime Minister David Lloyd George set up the Committee on Air Organisation and Home Defence against Air Raids. It was called upon to find a solution to improving the U.K’s defences in the face of successful German bombing raids and submarine warfare as well as rationalising and organising both services, as U.K. industry at the time had faced an unprecedented challenge in fulfilling the conflicting demands of both organisations.

The head of the Committee was the South African General Jan Smuts and the famous ‘Report by General Smuts on Air Organisation and the Direction of Aerial Operations’ was his second report to War Cabinet.

This ground-breaking report established that control over the air was as essential as Britannia’s control over the sea and called for the creation of an Air Ministry and an
independent aerial service by merging the RFC and RNAS. The report was debated over and the decision made.

However, at the beginning this decision was not excepted very enthusiastically. Firstly, many thought that establishing a new service should not happen at the crucial point of the war. Secondly, there was a long-lasting inter-rivalry between the RFC and the RNAS. Thirdly, the Admiralty didn’t want to lose the control over the air force. Nevertheless, in 1 April 1918 the new air force was born and this occasion has been described as one of the most remarkable achievements of the First World War.

‘General Smurts’ Report’ is an incredibly valuable document, but it is just one page in a vast array of broad and diverse documents, photographs, letters, reports and diaries, which bring to life the glorious history of the RAF in our RAF Commemorative Anthology.

The edition is limited to 1.500 copies worldwide. 250 of them are Signed Exemplary Edition published in 5 different versions, each representing an iconic aircraft and signed by three
pilots or crew from that aircraft: The Spitfire, the Lancaster, the Vulcan, the Harrier and the Tornado.

A donation from all sales will be made to the RAF100 Appeal supporting the RAF Association, Charitable Trust, Benevolent Fund, Museum and the Royal Air Force.

The first copies of the finished anthology have been sent out. But don’t worry it is not too late to purchase one for yourself and enjoy 100 breath-taking years of the first independent air force, through original documentation the vast majority of which has not been published before.

If you wish to purchase a copy of The RAF Commemorative Anthology, you may reserve a copy here.

19 April 2018
Meet the RAF

The RAF Museum sees its main purpose as delivering the fascinating story of the Royal Air Force in all its beauty and complexity. To do this we will be using the amazing artefacts and people stories from our collections to narrate the RAF story in full through both official and personal channels.

London’s new exhibition the ‘First 100 Years of the RAF’ is built to act as an extensive introduction to the Royal Air Force and to provide an exciting and outstanding experience for all our visitors whether they are a young novice explorer to a more seasoned student of RAF history.

We have named the first section of our ‘First 100 Years of the RAF’ exhibition ‘Meet the RAF’. This section will act as an introduction to the Royal Air Force and will have a plenty of unique and fascinating artefacts on display, that will shed light on different aspects of RAF life throughout its 100 years history.

For example, one of the artefacts on display will be the Minor Offences Book of No 4 Squadron dated from 20 May 1918 to 2 September 1918. The Minor Offence Book contained the records of any RAF personnel who had broken rules and it was kept up to date by the officer of No 4 Squadron. Our book was kept by Prince Albert who later became His Majesty the King George VI. It’s amazing to see the handwriting of a former monarch and the offences that he had to record. For example in the image below we can see Prince Albert recording how several personnel did not turn up for an afternoon parade on 19 June 1918 and how one officer entered the station’s mess via its windows, contrary to orders.

Another artefact exhibited with in ‘Meet the RAF’ section of the exhibition is the Badge of No 1 Squadron, the oldest flying unit in the world. As the RAF’s oldest unit, No 1 Squadron has been involved in almost every major British military operation from First World War to the present time. Its motto written on the badge reads ‘In omnibus princeps’ (‘In all things first’) which reflects its valorous history.

The RAF Museum has a huge and amazing collection, but no matter how precious and unique the objects are, the Royal Air Force is above all about its people, the extraordinary individuals who make all the RAF’s amazing achievements possible.

That is why the visitors to ‘Meet the RAF’ section will be greeted by the number of ‘silhouettes’ of these wonderful characters telling their stories. One of them is Group Captain
Donald Osborn Finlay, who was a successful Olympian of 1930s and won bronze and silver medals in the Olympic Games in 1932 and 1936 respectively. Donald joined RAF in
1935, he flew Spitfires during the Battle of Britain and had several confirmed air-to-air victories. He continued his service in the Middle and Far East until 1959, when he retired.

Another person whose silhouette will greet you is Reverend Eleanor Rance, who became the RAF’s first female Anglican chaplain in 1999 and spent the next 11 years supporting Service Personnel and their families in the UK and in Iraq. This dauntless woman witnessed the moments of great joy and horrific tragedy, but she still guided people to ‘the divine and eternal, healing
love’. Her motto is the same as the motto of the RAF Chaplain’s Branch: ‘To serve, not to be served’.

The ‘Meet the RAF’ section of our ‘First 100 Years of the RAF‘ exhibition is opening this summer together with all our new exhibitions. We will look forward to greeting you, at the RAF
Museum London, and enabling you to discover outstanding RAF characters and the unique and precious objects in our collections that tell the glorious story of the RAF.

12 April 2018
The RAF Centenary at the Museum

This year Royal Air Force is celebrating its 100^thanniversary. It has been a long and breath-taking journey from the early aviation pioneers, explorers and daredevils on 1918 to the modern heroes, peacekeepers and fighting force of today that works with the cutting-edge technologies in the disaster zones across the globe.

The RAF Museum is honoured to be involved in the 6-months’ programme of commemorations and celebrations that commenced on Saturday 31 March with the Royal Air Force Gala at the Royal Albert Hall.

On Easter Sunday 1 April both sites of the Royal Air Force Museum in London and in Cosford organised an amazing birthday celebration to mark this once-in-a-lifetime occasion. It was fantastic to see so many people, families with children, youngsters and senior visitors, joining us in celebrating and commemorating the RAF’s Centenary.

Our London site was visited by 15,000 people, and each visitor had a fascinating opportunity to experience all the exciting and unique activities we had prepared. One of the highlights of the day was undoubtedly the immersive show from Front of House Theatre Company bringing to life the stories of the early aviators from 1918, such as Lieutenant Indra Lal Roy, India’s first flying ace, Robbie Clarke, Britain’s first black pilot, and Grace Mary Berry one of the first member’s of the Women’s Royal Air Force with her diary. Our younger visitors were delighted and ‘mesmerised’, as they discovered an important part of RAF and UK history.

Our London birthday guests were also taking pictures in the real First World War flying jackets in front of our beautiful aircraft, painting dozens of their own RAF flags, discovering the story of Hendon airfield and early aviation in Hendon and finally cheering the RAF100 Baton Relay team , who had successfully completed their first day taking the RAF100 Baton from St Clement Dane’s Church, the Royal Air Force’s church, in the Strand as part of its 100 day journey across the globe. Our London site was the first of the 100 RAF related stations across the whole world, which the RAF100 Baton Relay team will visit by July 10 – a 100 days from the start of its journey.

Our celebration at Cosford lasted for 2 days, Easter Sunday and the Bank Holiday Monday. During this 2-days festival our Cosford site also proved hugely popular and was attended by over 11,000 visitors – with a total of 15,000 visiting during the Easter weekend. Over 80 re-enactors from across the country brought our Cosford to life with their displays depicting amazing RAF stories through the years. Highlights included Vulcan storytelling, engine demonstrations and uniform and artefact handling.

Both celebrations had such an amazing, joyful and uplifting atmosphere that we are confident they have inspired some of our younger visitors to take the RAF forward into the next 100 years.

As mentioned before both of those outstanding events were just a mere part of the 6-month’s celebration of the RAF Centenary the RAF Museum is involved in.

This summer our London site will re-open after the successful completion of the RAF Centenary Transformation Programme. This will provide our visitors with a much improved visitor experience including a fully re-landscaped site, offering a new green space in the heart of Colindale ; 3 new magnificent exhibitions with plenty of new exhibits never
seen by the public before; plus new ways to access our collection both on and off-line as befits a world-class museum connected with
a global audience.

We look forward to welcoming you again and invite you to explore from this summer our expanded collection – which will offer richer engagement and people-focused
interpretation.

We also hope that you will make the most of this 6 month’s of celebrations and commemorations by participating in many of the RAF 100 activities taking place in your local area… and if you see the #RAFBatonRelay Team on their journey over the next 95 days, please shout out your encouragement. Their arrival at Horseguards Parade on 10 July will be spectacular.

5 April 2018
Foundation Day: Then and Now

100 years ago, on 1 April 1918, the Royal Air Force was formed along with a female branch of the service, the Women’s Royal Air Force, by merging together the two wings of the Air Service the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.

As the Guardian reported on this day 100 years ago: ‘an old rivalry, which perhaps was not without its value as a stimulus to both sections, but which lost in confusion much more than it achieved by healthy competition, is ended in a single identity of uniform’. The Royal Air Force became the World’s first independent air force.

On the inauguration of the Royal Air Force, His Majesty the King George V sent the telegram to Lord Rothermere, the President of the Air Council saying:

‘Today the Royal Air Force, of which you are Minister in Charge, comes into existence as a third arm of the Defence of the Empire. As General-in-Chief I congratulate you on its birth, and I trust it may enjoy a vigorous and successful life. I am confident that the union of the Royal Naval Air Service and the Royal Flying Corps will preserve and foster that esprit de corps which these two separate forces have created by their splendid deeds’.

His Majesty was right.

For 100 years, the RAF fearless servicemen and women have been involved in every major theatre of battle since the First World War and in countless crucial and dangerous missions after. The RAF has effected millions of lives, pushed scientific boundaries, driven innovations, served as the best example of unprecedented courage, valour and heroism and has become part of UK’s national identity.

On 1 April 2018, we celebrate the RAF’s 100 Birthday. The Centenary itself will be marked by a number of special events, activities and initiatives through the whole of 2018 including a Gala Concert at the Royal Albert Hall on 31 March and a Centenary Service in Westminster Abbey, a parade in The Mall and spectacular flypast over Buckingham Palace all on 10 July.

But on the for the day itself, 1 April, Royal Air Force Museum has prepared a spectacular celebration at both of its sites for all our visitors to reflect on the RAF’s history and achievements.

In London, we have planned a fantastic day out for you and all your family with theatre, talks, interactives, delicious meal and lots of fun. The Front of House Theatre Company will perform a brand new immersive and atmospheric performance bringing to life the incredible personal stories of real-life characters from 1918, such as Robbie Clarke and Grace Mary Berry, as well as involving the audience into drawing sketches with Lieutenant Indra Lal Roy and discovering the magic of flight in Claude Grahame-White’s Office.

London visitors will also be welcome to try on the flying jackets and uniforms in front of our beautiful aircraft and to discover the story of the Hendon airfield and aviation in Hendon. Our youngest visitors will colour special RAF Centenary paper flags; and families and friends are welcome to enjoy a delicious traditional Sunday lunch in our new restaurant, Claude’s.

London’s celebration will culminate with the arrival of the Centenary Baton Relay, a specially designed baton carried by the serving RAF personnel to 100 sites associated with the RAF in 100 days starting from the centre of London. Our site in London will be the first point on its journey across the globe and all our visitors are welcome to cheer on the Baton team, by waving their newly decorated flags.

At Cosford the celebration will last for 2 days, Sunday Easter 1 April and Monday Bank Holiday 2 April. Here, we have organised a range of exciting and thrilling events with living historians, interpreters, family activities and vintage vehicles – all of which will walk you through history, and help you explore 100 years of the Royal Air Force.

Cosford’s celebration will include the meeting with the originators of the Royal Flying Corps and the opportunity to see up close exactly what these young pilots had to do to defend our skies, and how this different it is from today. Marvel at the earliest flying technologies, from bi-planes to airships, discover by the stories of peacetime operations throughout history and the Royal Air Force’s wider community involvement, and get involved with our family friendly interactive talks, tactical mapping, and learn how to scramble to all manner of aircraft while exploring RAF missions around the world. Younger visitors will appreciate the opportunity to take a seat behind replica anti-aircraft guns, aim and fire in our ‘have-a-go’ anti-aircraft area. Visitors are also welcome to wonder at the skills of pilots in the new Jet Age; to practice their own Scramble to a Vulcan Bomber and to meet serving personnel from the RAF today.

All in all both sites will be offering visitors the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to discover the Royal Air Force in its amazing power and complexity on, arguably, one of the Royal Air Forces most historic of days.

30 March 2018