Tag: RAF Museum

A Local Memorial to Bravery

On the 16 December at a square in Bristol Avenue, Colindale a naming ceremony took place commemorating one of the many female pioneers in the world of aviation. The names of four women were considered for this with consultation with the RAF Museum and voted for by the public. These were Gabrielle Patterson, Margaret Fairweather, Mona Friedlander and Winifred Crossley Fair.

The four women who were under consideration were all part of a group of eight female pilots that were the first women to join the Air Transport Auxiliary who ferried aircraft in wartime across Britain and who signed up on the 1 January 1940. Women being allowed to join this organisation was due to the work of Pauline Gower who campaigned for women to be allowed.

These women were at first restricted and were only allowed to ferry Tiger Moths from Hatfield to storage reserves in places such as Kinloss and Lossiemouth, they then had to make their own way back home. It was not until over a year later in July 1941 that women were granted permission to transport operational aircraft. Eventually women would advance from flying single engine aircraft to four-engines.

These four women had over 5000 flying hours between them before joining so no mere novices. In their time serving with the Air Transport Auxiliary they would put this experience to good use, on average each flying 33 different types of aircraft while serving.

Of the four women it is Gabrielle Patterson who has been selected via public online vote. Gabrielle had the most flying hours before joining the ATA with 1530 hours. Her service record is full of praise for a pilot who had undoubted ability and experience. Much of Gabrielle’s experience had been gathered from her experience as a flying instructor and was a leading figure in women’s aviation being Britain’s first female instruction was a role she carried on after the war and inspired many young female pilots to follow in her stead. Her work with the ATA was at the core of her life so much so that when she died in October 1968 her ashes were later scattered from an aircraft over White Waltham airfield, the wartime home of the ATA

Left to right: Lettice Curtis, Jenny Broad, Wendy Sale Barker, Gabrielle Patterson and Pauline Gower.

The other three women who were considered are also pioneers in their field.

Winnifred Crossley Fair was like Gabrielle Patterson a highly experienced pilot before the Second World War with even more flying hours, some 1895. She was a renowned stunt pilot and when serving with the ATA was the first to fly the iconic Hurricane fighter. Her general record is full of praise for her piloting skills being described as a ‘smooth and polished pilot’.

Mona Friedlander was the youngest of the four joining at the age of 26 and had comparatively little flying experience before joining the ATA, although even this was some 556 hours. In her service Mona would fly over 30 different aircraft and like all the other members of the ATA be vital in transporting much needed aircraft around the country to where they are needed.

The life of Margaret Fairweather illustrates the dangers these women and men of the ATA faced on a daily basis. Margaret was 39 when she joined and in the 700 hours she spent ferrying aircraft she become the first woman to fly a Spitfire.

In 1938 she had met and married a fellow pilot Douglas Keith Fairweather and Douglas was one of the first to sign a contract with the British Overseas Airways Corporation for work with the ATA. He became in charge of aircraft movement flights from No. 1 ferry pool White Waltham in 1942 and Margaret joined him.

Margaret was viewed as one of the most capable pilots eventually learning to fly four-engined aircraft, she is rather nicely described in her service record as ‘an experienced and capable pilot. Consistently does good work in an unobtrusive manner’.

On 3 April 1944 Douglas volunteered to fly to Prestwick to pick up an ambulance case, somewhere over the Irish Sea in poor weather his aircraft was lost. A few days later Margaret gave birth to their daughter Elizabeth. Tragically within four months Margaret would also be killed in service when a Proctor she was piloting suffered full engine failure and it crashed into a field.

It is often thought that the life of a woman in the ATA was one full of glamour and media attention. It can be seen here that it was one of hard work, danger and bravery and the naming of this square serves as a memorial to them.

For further information on the ATA please see my previous blog here: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/posts-from-the-archive-evelyn-hudson-and-ata/

20 December 2023
In Memoriam: The Spitfire 10k and the Roll of Honour.

Spitfire 10k

Informal portrait of ACM Sir Hugh Dowding talking to Douglas Bader. Spitfire in background.

If you venture to the RAF Museum Midlands on 27 August or our London site on 17 September you will witness the return of the Spitfire 10K run. This event is held to support the RAF Museum and enable us to tell the stories of those who served in the RAF. To symbolise this each entrant receives a Roll of Honour card in their pack. The Roll of Honour commemorates the pilots and aircrew who lost their lives during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

The Roll of Honour card allows the entrant to carry the name of a Battle of Britain Pilot with them on their run and someone to research also. In this blog and a subsequent one I will investigate some of those whose name the entrants may receive. Each is of course an individual who left behind a family, friends and lovers. They were part of ‘The Few’.

It’s not too late to sign up for the run and take part in this unique event. Further details may be found at our website (Midlands) and (London).

Roll of Honour

Pilots in the Battle of Britain had of course had a wide variety of life experiences and I examine just two below who feature on the Roll of Honour and whose card you may get to carry with you on your run.

RAF Hendon at home: Eleventh anniversary Battle of Britain, 15 September 1951 (R015503)

A Father’s Discovery

James Hugh Roumeui Young did not begin his working life wishing to be a pilot. At the age of 17 he trained at Elstree Studios and worked on various films travelling to Morocco and Algiers to do so. Aged 21 in 1939, perhaps inspired by this glimpse of traveling the world, he joined the Royal Air Force.

On the 28 July 1940 while flying Spitfire P9547 Pilot Officer Young encountered Oberleutnant Muncheberg of III/JG26. His Spitfire was shot down and it was thought he crashed near the Goodwin Sands. Goodwin Sands is a 10-mile-long (16 km) sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea.

Later investigation would reveal that his body was washed ashore near Cap Blanc Nez in Normandy France on the same day and buried. This discovery was revealed in a letter to his father, Captain Young of the Royal Engineers on 27 February 1945 by Chaplain Alexander Reid who had visited his grave which was alongside two unknown British Soldiers. His grave was described as
‘well cared for, and a green shrub has been planted over it. The plot has been surrounded with white stones.’

Further information on Pilot Officer Young can be found at the Battle of Britain London Monument website (bbm.org.uk)

James Hugh Roumieu Young and Alexander ‘Alec’ Albert Gray Trueman.

Remembered at home and overseas

The Canadian Alexander “Alec” Albert Gray Trueman was an experienced pilot when the Battle of Britain begun. He had joined the RAF on short service commission in 1938 after obtaining his Canadian pilot license.

By March 1939 he was a Pilot Officer and his valuable flying experience was soon to be needed. After transferring from Bomber Command to Fighter Command after piloting Hampdens he converted to Hurricanes and was part of No. 253 Squadron who transferred to RAF Kenley. This was on the front line of the Battle of Britain as it was based near Greater London.

Hawker Hurricane Mk. I (SO-E) of No. 145 Squadron, port rear view on ground, June or July 1940 (P012506)

On 2 September 1940 P/O Trueman was credited with damaging a Bf 109, for this he was promoted to Flying Officer the next day. On the 4 September eight Hurricanes, including Flying Officer Truman’s V6638 took off on an interception patrol. V6638 would plummet to the ground after being shot down.

Fling Officer Truman was buried in St. Luke’s churchyard, Whyteleafe, Surrey and is remembered in many ways. Trueman Road in Kenley is named in tribute to him and he is also remembered on the family memorial in New Brunswick, Canada. Perhaps the most poignant memorial to him however was the twin sons, Alec and Michael born on 4 November 1940, two months after the death of their father. His wife Ethel would live until the age of 89 passing away in 2002. Further information and images may be found at the Kenley’s Revival website.

A busy scene of WAAFs plotting on an operations table seen from the upper gallery, the extension of which serves as the background to the painting.

12 July 2023
Arthur Scarf’s Victoria Cross

On 9 December 1941, Squadron Leader Arthur Scarf completed a supreme act of valour for which he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. Scarf’s Victoria Cross was one of only twenty-two awarded to the RAF in the Second World War and the only such award made to the RAF for service in the Far East during the War.

Scarf was born in Wimbledon on 4 June 1913 and attended school in South London before deciding to join the RAF in 1936 and training to become a pilot. One of Scarf’s flying instructors at No. 9 Flying Training School was Flight Lieutenant John Grandy, who would later become Chief of the Air Staff in 1967 and retire with the rank of Marshal of the Royal Air Force. After training, in October 1936, Scarf was posted to No. 9 Squadron at Scampton who were equipped with the Handley Page Heyford.

In 1937, following a short detachment to No. 206 (GR) Squadron flying the Avro Anson, Scarf was briefly posted to 61 Squadron, equipped with the Hawker Hind. After four weeks of familiarisation on the Hind, Scarf was posted to the newly raised No. 62 Squadron. In 1938, they re-equipped to the Bristol Blenheim Mk I, a more modern aircraft than the Hind, as the RAF increased the tempo of its rearmament in the period immediately before the outbreak of war with Germany. In 1939, however, Scarf’s Squadron was sent to Singapore as part of the RAF’s defensive forces in the event of a war with Japan. Despite these reinforcements, Britain’s overall position in the region was precarious and it was unable to deploy large enough forces to act as a meaningful deterrent to Japanese aggression.

In April 1941, Scarf married Elizabeth ‘Sally’ Lunn. Having originally served as a member of Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, Elizabeth volunteered for the Colonial Nursing Service. Elizabeth was now able to work at Alor Star – where Arthur and No. 62 Squadron were based. Although on ‘active service’ with the RAF this was a period of exercises and training for Scarf, and the newly married couple lived together. Then, in the early hours of 8 December 1941, Japan launched its invasion of what is today Thailand.

The Japanese invasion of 8 December was part of the first stage of their operations to seize the Malayan peninsula and Singapore. The RAF looked to make an immediate counterblow that same morning. They were, however, prevented by weather conditions from making an attack on their primary objective against the invading Japanese forces. Instead, No. 62 Squadron targeted Japanese landing craft in the morning and began to prepare for a second operation. Following a heavy attack by some 30 Japanese bombers, however, Scarf and No. 62 Squadron were withdrawn from the exposed airfield on Alor Star. As a result, it was not until the afternoon of 9 December, having relocated to an airfield 45 miles further south, that Squadron Leader Scarf – ‘Pongo’ to his friends – prepared to lead a daylight attack on the Japanese air force which was operating from captured airfields in southern Thailand.

Scarf and the crew members of his Blenheim were the first to take off. As Scarf became airborne, a formation of Japanese bombers swept over the airfield. Powerless to protect his Squadron, Scarf could only hope that there might be some surviving aircraft to join him in the air. However, the Japanese attack had destroyed or damaged every British aircraft that had been on the ground.

Realising that none of his Squadron’s aircraft had survived the Japanese bombing Scarf resolved to complete his Squadron’s allotted task. Unlike many Victoria Cross actions, Scarf was not thrown straight into action and asked to confront a single moment with valour. Instead, what makes this Victoria Cross extraordinary is the cool and determined bravery. Scarf assessed the situation and made the calculated decision that for his Squadron, his Service, and his country, the sortie was necessary despite the incredibly high risks that would need to be confronted. Having made this decision Arthur Scarf had the time to turn back. As minute after minute, and mile after mile, passed as Scarf headed straight towards the enemy, he must have fought the urge to turn back. Scarf resisted that temptation.

Flying low for some 30 miles into enemy occupied Scarf skilfully evaded several attacks by Japanese fighters. As Scarf neared the enemy airfield, however, fresh Japanese fighters arrived to attack the lone British bomber.

Despite the danger Scarf flew the Blenheim on a steady run and released his bombs whilst his crew manned their machine guns and strafed the aircraft beneath them, which had been parked like a row of taxis. As Scarf turned for home, his task complete, more Japanese fighters arrived and pressed their attacks at close-range. Greatly outnumbered, hopelessly outgunned, and in aircraft slower than his enemies, Scarf flew at treetop height, throwing his Blenheim around huge limestone outcrops, desperately seeking whatever protection he could find.

Despite using every ounce of his skill to evade the worst of the attacks, cannon and machine-gun fire from the Japanese aircraft riddled Scarf’s Blenheim. Scarf himself was grievously wounded, with one burst of fire shattering his arm, and another ripping through the in the unarmoured pilot seat of the Blenheim into his back.

Mortally wounded, Scarf’s crew mates had to hold him tight to keep him upright in his shattered seat as he grimly struggled to bring them home. With the aircraft seemingly doomed, the Japanese fighters finally abandoned their attack. Scarf, realising he would be unable to return the long distance to their original base, made course for the British controlled airfield at Alor Star.

Only a few minutes flying time away, Alor Star was where Scarf had been based before the Japanese invasion. It was an airfield his crew knew well, and as they aided Scarf control the plane that may have contributed to his decision. Equally, in these final moments it may have been that he turned for Alor Star because it was where he had lived alongside his wife, and where they had celebrated the news that she was pregnant with their first child. Scarf crash landed the aircraft without injury to his crew but died from his wound shortly afterwards.

Later accounts are conflicted as to whether Scarf saw his wife one last time before his death. In the post-war period, when Scarf’s Victoria Cross was awarded, reports were run that Elizabeth Scarf had been at Alor Star and had been on duty when a casualty was brought in from a Blenheim which had crash landed. Elizabeth was later reported to have been at Alor Star. Newspaper stories from 1946, recount that she was not only able to exchange some final words with Arthur, but to provide two pints of her blood as a transfusion before he died. Other reports suggest that Elizabeth had been evacuated before 9 December.

Despite the overarching chaos that engulfed the British position in the Far East following the Japanese invasion it does seem unlikely that Elizabeth would have remained at Alor Star following the heavy attacks that had forced the withdrawal of No. 62 Squadron. There is, however, no disputing the closing words to the citation for Arthur’s Victoria Cross. On 9 December 1941, Arthur ‘displayed supreme heroism in the face of tremendous odds’ and ‘his splendid example of self-sacrifice will long be remembered.’

In October 2022, it was announced that the Arts Minister, Stuart Andrew, following the advice of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest had decided that Squadron Leader Scarf’s Victoria Cross was of National Importance. A temporary export ban was placed on the Victoria Cross. This decision followed the sale of Squadron Leader Scarf’s Victoria Cross, along with four other medals awarded to him, at auction for £660,000. This was a record for a Victoria Cross awarded to a member of the RAF.

In January 2023, because Scarf’s Victoria Cross was recognised as being of national importance, the RAF Museum was offered the opportunity to match the sale price. However, we only have until 30 April 2023 to save Arthur Scarf’s Victoria Cross.

If you would like to help us save Arthur’s Victoria Cross, and use it to inspire a new generation, then you can make a donation today by visiting www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-scarf-vc

4 March 2023
The Fairey Battle

One aircraft in the RAF Museum London – which is often overlooked – is a type of aircraft which has two exceptional claims to your attention. These are the first RAF claim of an aerial victory in the Second World War; and having been used on a mission on 12 May 1940, in which the RAF’s first two Victoria Crosses of the Second World War were awarded. Step forward the Fairey Battle.

Genesis and development

Interbellum

The Fairey Battle was conceived at a time of significant political and military change – upheaval, indeed.

At the end of the Great War, the Treasury had imposed a ‘10 Year Rule’ which postulated that there would not be a major war in Europe for the following 10 years, and so budgetary demands from the services should be based on that assumption. This would roll forward from year to year. In June 1930, the Committee of Imperial Defence confirmed the continuation of that policy. However, within a few months, Japanese forces invaded Manchuria. In early 1932 they attacked Shanghai, where there were very significant British political and commercial interests. The Chiefs of Staff called on the British Government to cancel the ten-year rule, which the Government accepted and immediately began rearmament.

For the RAF, this meant replacing their by-then antiquated biplane fighters and bombers in a series of rapidly growing, and desperate, Expansion Plans. These plans went through many contradicting versions, one replacing the other before completion. They were A (1934-36), C (1935-37), F (1935-39), H (1937-39), J (1938-41), K (1938-41), L (1938-41) and M (1939-42).

The Battle’s progress from the Air Ministry identifying a need to a final volume delivery was far from straightforward. Concept, specification and design were often changed, exacerbated by delivery delays. What started out as a high performance, modern aircraft was rather obsolescent the day it entered squadron service. And, in combat, nothing short of a death trap.

One of the major constraints at the beginning of the design process was ‘The Conference for the Reduction and Limitation of Armaments’, generally known as the Geneva Conference, held between February 1932 and November 1934. Its objective was to allow countries weapons for defence but prohibit offensive weapons. This was impossible to achieve for both political and practical reasons. Just one example: tanks were excluded from consideration as they could be used for both purposes. For aircraft, the consequence was to limit the weight of single-engined bombers to 6,000 lbs (2,700 kgs) without engine – a major constraint on designers.

In August 1932, the Air Ministry drew up Specification P.27/32 for a high-speed monoplane medium day bomber to replace the RAF’s existing Hart biplane bomber.

The Specification called for a speed of 195 mph (314 km/h) at 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) with a range of 600 miles (1,000 km) carrying a bomb load of 1,000 lb (454 kilos) with armament of one fixed machine gun in the wing.

As an aside, the required range of 600 miles would not have reached Berlin. But would take you to Paris – the assumed opponent in the late 1920s and early 1930s!

The first delay arose in getting the Specification to aircraft manufacturers, finally emerging in June 1933. However, within a month of publication, the Air Ministry recognised this performance was wholly inadequate for their perceived needs so the requirements were increased to match the twin-engined B.9/32 (which produced the Hampden and Wellington). This called for a range increased to 720 miles (1,160 km) and speed of 195 mph (314 km/h) at the increased altitude of 15,000 feet (up from 10,000) (3,000 m to 4,500 m). Added to that a potentially increased tankage for a range of 1,200 miles (1,900 km).

At the tender design conference in November 1933, seven submissions were considered, coming from Armstrong Whitworth, Bristol, Fairey, Gloster, Hawker, Vickers and Westland. (Boulton Paul had been invited but did not bid). Fairey claimed a speed of 223 mph (360 km/h) at 15,000 feet (4,500 m) and was favourite. It was in many ways a modern machine: low-wing and using metal stressed-skin manufacturing techniques – a huge leap from wood and canvas – and bombs carried internally in the wings.

A delay now occurred whilst the choice of engine was reviewed. The Air Ministry had originally written the airframe specification around Rolls Royce’s glycol-cooled Griffon engine but Fairey wanted to install their own (as yet unproven) water-cooled Prince engine. In the end, the Griffon did not enter service until 1942, and the Prince engine was never finished. The Rolls Royce Merlin was chosen instead.

A contract for one prototype was placed on 11 June 1934, to be delivered by September 1935. Yet more changes were afoot. The Disarmament Conference collapsed so the weight limit was waived. Mr CR Fairey and his principal designer, Belgian engineer Marcel Lobelle, visited the USA and upon their return wanted to modify the prototype’s design to reflect the manufacturing improvements observed there. Also, the specification was changed to be capable of night bombing. Further modifications and redesigns led to a revised Specification (P.23/35) and again in 1937 (P.14/36). In April 1936, efforts were made to reduce weight. Throughout these changes the single forward-facing gun was retained. A contemporary note records that ‘there was no logical reason [for the gun] but the effect on the morale of the crews is substantial’.

The prototype flew on 10 March 1936 (five days after K 5054, the Supermarine Spitfire prototype). However, there were further delays and the prototype was not delivered to the Aircraft and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) for service trials until October 1936. The original specification had called for just two crew: pilot and observer. The latter had to carry out the duties of navigator, bomb aimer, wireless operator and rear gunner. The Battle, as delivered, had a crew of three: pilot, observer (navigator / bomb aimer) and wireless operator / air gunner, the latter to operate the Vickers ‘K’ 0.303 inch rear-facing gun. (The RAF Museum Battle’s gun was removed at the request of the Metropolitan Police some while ago.) Maximum speed at sea level was 257 mph (414 km/h) with a cruising speed of 200 mph (322 km/h) at 16,000 ft (4,877 m) and range of 900 miles (1,450 km). It was, though, being developed in parallel with the more capable – and twin-engined – Bristol Blenheim and the superlative Vickers Wellington, whose two engines gave bomb capacity and range performances far exceeding that of the Battle.

Production

In the rush to rearm, the RAF wanted as many aircraft as the factories could turn out and a production order for 155 Battles was placed in 1935, even before the prototype had been delivered. By November 1936, 1,363 were on order. And plans were being drawn up for the car maker Austin to build Battles under contract to Fairey. More orders followed with increasing urgency. Or was it desperation?

By December 1938, its impending obsolescence was recognised in that an order was placed for a further 200 Battles explicitly as a means of maintaining production capabilities in the aircraft industry for the impending production of the Avro Manchester.

Total build was 2,184 by Fairey and under contract by Austin Motors. As well as those delivered to the RAF, some were sold to Belgium and Finland. In June 1939, there is reference to a tropicalised Battle with a Taurus engine but nothing seems to have developed further.

Into service

The first production Battle flew on 14 April 1937 and Battles entered RAF service in May 1937 with No. 63 Squadron at RAF Upwood, Cambridgeshire. By January 1939, the Royal Air Force could call on over 400 Battles in 10 squadrons of No. 1 Group and 8 training squadrons in No. 6 Group, Bomber Command.

Turning now to the actions in which the RAF’s first aerial victory and first two Victoria Crosses of the Second World War were won.

Advanced Air Striking Force

After Germany invaded Poland, the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) set sail to France for the second time in 25 years. This time it was not accompanied by the Royal Flying Corps, but by the British Air Forces France (BAFF), comprising the Royal Air Force Component of the BEF and the Advanced Air Striking Force (AASF). The former operated Westland Lysanders for tactical reconnaissance and photographic survey of the front line; Bristol Blenheims for strategic reconnaissance as far as the Rhine; and Hawker Hurricanes to defend the bases and reconnaissance aircraft. The AASF contained 10 squadrons of Battles and Bristol Blenheim bombers supported by Hurricane fighters, with the original purpose of enabling the short-range bombers to reach German industry in the Ruhr (strategic bombing of military facilities and particularly oil and railways). But a combination of the extreme weakness of the French Air Force and the vulnerability of the Battles led to them being switched to army support, intended to attack bottlenecks such as bridges and road junctions.

Incredibly complex and tight Rules of Engagement were promulgated, having been agreed at a political and military and level with France, the predominant power. The official plans stated that bombing was not permitted unless the Germans bombed first; indeed, in his post-war autobiography Marshal of the RAF, Sir Arthur Harris, wrote “when the invasion started, it proved impossible to persuade General Gamelin [French army commander-in-chief] to permit the use of bombers at all … eventually [Air Marshal Sir Arthur ‘Ugly’] Barrett, Commander-in Chief of British Air Forces in France, had to order the squadrons into action on his own initiative”. The official plan even went so far as to say that, if the Germans did attack, the AASF was only expected to be called upon to attack significant targets – defined as more than 50 tanks, 50 artillery pieces or 100 vehicles, and using 40 lb (18 kilo) bombs. Bomber Command Operation Instruction No. 22 stated that columns of troops were not to be attacked if there was any risk of heavy German civilian casualties. Written orders also emphasised the criticality of day bombers having fighter support.

What followed Britain’s declaration of war was widely called the Phoney War: perhaps Phoney for the BEF and French armies – dug in facing the Germans for months with nothing happening – but for the Royal Air Force it was very immediately real war.

In England, the RAF quickly and bloodily learned that the ability of bombers to defend themselves against German fighters was a myth. Wellingtons and Blenheims attacking German warships at Wilhelmshaven by day on 4 September – the day after Britain declared war on Germany – suffered savage losses. Of the 27 aircraft which took part, 7 ‘failed to return’, a 24% loss rate. 26 September saw 5 of 11 Hampdens lost (45%); and on 13 December, 12 Wellingtons attacked German warships in the Schillig Roads of which 5 did not return (42%). But worst of all was 14 December with 15 out of 22 Wellingtons (68%) were either shot down, ditched in the unforgiving North Sea on the way home or crash-landed away from their bases. This vulnerability of unescorted day bombing was a lesson also painfully learnt by the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain and by the United States Eighth Army Air Force 2 years later.

A Battle has the honour of claiming the RAF’s first aerial victory of the Second World War. On 20 September 1939 – 17 days after Britain joined the Second World War, a flight of three Battles from No. 88 Squadron on patrol near Aachen was attacked by Messerschmitt Bf 109s. Two Battles were shot down but the gunner of the third, Sergeant Letchford, claimed a Bf 109 destroyed. Although his claim was endorsed by French troops, Luftwaffe records show no losses that day. Alternatively, the honour goes to Leading Aircraftman John Ernest Summers of No. 103 Squadron on 27 September 1939 when, again, three Battles were attacked by Bf 109s, one of which Summers shot down.

Task 109

The Phoney War abruptly ended on 10 May 1940 with the German invasion of Holland, Belgium and France. By 12 May, German forces had reached the Albert Canal in Belgium, on the route to Brussels, where Belgian forces had failed to destroy two key bridges at Maastricht and Sedan, specifically a concrete bridge at Vroenhoven and a steel one at Veldwezelt. over which the German armour was swarming. BAFF issued Task 109 at 1300 hrs ordering an attack by three Battles on each bridge, which had to be destroyed – as the subsequent London Gazette Victoria Cross citations stated – ‘at all costs’.

No. 12 Squadron with their Fairey Battles was assigned the mission. By this stage, it was generally appreciated that what had been cutting-edge aircraft performance in 1934 were by 1940 obsolete death-traps. The crews were under no illusions as to the dangers they faced. Elsewhere in France, as early as 30 September 1939, 4 out of 5 Battles on armed reconnaissance patrol over Germany were shot down, the 5th damaged beyond repair. And the day of the German attack – two days earlier – a total of 32 Battles was despatched, of which 13 were lost and all the remainder badly damaged. No. 12 Squadron had participated with 4 Battles, of which only 1 returned safely. Their Commanding Officer called for volunteers: the whole Squadron stepped forward so the six crews selected were those already on the day’s ‘readiness’ roster but due to the unserviceability of 1 aircraft, as well as the spare, only 5 actually took off.

As expected, the bridges were very heavily defended, both by Bf 109 fighters and Flak [‘Fliegerabwehrkanon’, Anti-Aircraft Artillery]. In accordance with Standing Orders, a flight of 8 Hurricanes from No. 1 Squadron, led by Squadron Leader ‘Bull’ Halahan went ahead of the Battles but were closely engaged by the Bf 109s and could not help them. The Battles stood no chance but pressed on bravely. The Bf 109s were 100 mph faster, more manoeuvrable and had lethal 20mm cannons. Of the 5 Battles which attacked, 4 were brought down and the 5th landed away from its base, badly damaged and without the 2 crew who had been ordered by the pilot to bale out as the wing fuel tank was on fire. The lead pilot of the flight of 3 Battles targeting the Veldwezelt bridge was Flying Officer Donald Garland, with Sergeant Gray as his Observer [Navigator].

RAF Museum Archives has the accident card and the Squadron Operations Record Book lists all five aircraft, with serial numbers, individual squadron letters and crew. Garland’s was P 2204 and the identification markings were PH-K (where PH is for No. 12 Squadron and K the individual aircraft). Both Flying Officer Garland and Sergeant Gray were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for Valour. But pity the poor Wireless Operator/Air Gunner. He had volunteered and died alongside them but received no recognition. His name was Leading Aircraftman Lawrence Reynolds and he is buried alongside the others in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s Heverlee War Cemetery, Belgium.

In the surviving aircraft, the pilot, Pilot Officer Davy, was awarded the DFC and his Wireless Operator/Air Gunner, Leading Aircraftman Patterson, the DFM. Sadly, all their heroic sacrifices were in vain. Although the bridges were damaged, within hours the very efficient German army engineers had thrown pontoon bridges across the Albert Canal. Garland was one of four brothers, all of whom died in action, flying in the RAF during the Second World War. Gray was one of seven brothers: four joined the RAF and three died flying.

And the next day, the slaughter continued. Overall, between 10 and 14 May 1940, Battles flew 118 sorties; 60 of these ended in destruction (51%). Bomber Command, operating from English bases, suffered as well. On 17 May 12 Blenheims attacked German army formations by day, of which 11 were shot down and the 12th was so badly damaged it crash-landed in England. By June 1940, the Battles were withdrawn to England and never again flew daylight combat missions over North-West Europe.

Battle of the Barges

‘What General Weygand called the “Battle of France” is over.
I expect that the battle of Britain is about to begin’
Winston S Churchill House of Commons 18 June 1940

The overwhelming image of the Battle of Britain is of vapour trails from Spitfires and Hurricanes against an azure blue sky. However, in the darkness of night, Bomber Command was hard at work – suffering greater casualties in what became known as the Battle of the Barges. And not all casualties were from the Luftwaffe and Flak. Apart from ‘routine’ flying accidents, misidentifications (‘blue on blue’/’friendly fire’/’fratricide’) were fatal. On the night of 31 July/1 August, a Battle was shot down by RAF fighters over the North Sea near Skegness.

‘Unternehmen Seelöwe’, Operation Sealion, the German plan for the invasion of Britain, necessitated transporting a massive army in vast numbers of commercial barges which were assembled in the French and Belgian Channel ports, particularly Boulogne, Calais and Dunkirk, and Bomber Command was tasked with their destruction.

Assets listed as available in squadrons on 17 May 1940 were heavy bombers (Wellington, Whitley, Hampden) and medium bombers (Blenheim) but no Battles. These latter are recorded as being 103 at immediate availability (within 7 days) and as many as 753 at longer availability (beyond 7 days). Additionally, there are a further 52 Battles listed separately as having limped back from France.

At 8 pm on 7 September, General Headquarters, Home Command, issued the code word ‘Cromwell’, meaning an invasion was imminent [i.e. within 24 hours]. Bomber Command was already at Alert II, requiring 24 medium bombers at 30 minutes readiness to support Home Forces and 50% of the remainder earmarked for anti-invasion tasking. The first entry for ‘docks and barges’ as targets in Bomber Command diaries was for the same night of 7/8 September. Battles were back in action – though fewer than the twin-engined types – with Nos 12, 103 and 150 Squadrons, reformed after their mauling in Belgium and France, as well as the newly-formed Nos 300 and 301 Squadrons of Poles who had escaped, first from Poland to France, then from France to England.

In his autobiography, Enemy Coast Ahead, Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, DSO*, DFC* describes his raids as a Flying Officer with No. 83 Squadron in Hampdens. ‘Each squadron was given a port which was to be considered its own particular port and the pet baby of all concerned; each crew was given a basin; in each basin there were so many barges, sometimes 200, sometimes even 400. After each raid, a reconnaissance was made and the C.O. would call all the crews together. “I have got some pictures of C Basin at Antwerp. Yesterday there were 400 barges there, today’s reconnaissance shows 350. Who is on C Basin?” Some pilot would shuffle to his feet. “Well, you sank fifty, you and the rest, but that is not enough”. Gibson continued ‘I once gained 100 barges, and neither the C.O. nor anyone else could tell me that I was responsible for them’.

Fighter Command’s success in the Battle of Britain meant that Hitler – his mind already turning East to Operation Barbarossa (the invasion of the Soviet Union, ultimately his nemesis) – could not achieve air superiority over the English Channel and called off the invasion of Britain. On 30 September, Bomber Command was notified that the threat of imminent invasion had been withdrawn and the last major raid on the barges was by 24 Blenheims and 6 Battles on 12/13 October. Bomber Command was now free to switch to its original role of the strategic bombing of Germany and the Fairey Battle was withdrawn from combat.

Second-line duties

With the exception of one squadron transferred to the Luftwaffe-clear skies of Iceland, by the end of 1940 Battles were relegated to second-line functions: training, with dual-control in a separate cockpit some with a turret added to train gunners and others for target towing. Canada received 739, Australia more than 600, South Africa 150 and a handful to New Zealand, all under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

The RAF Museum’s Fairey Battle

Our Museum’s Battle airframe is a bit of a mongrel. Serial number L5343 was built under sub-contract by Austin Motors and delivered on 13 September 1939 to a Maintenance Unit, then transferred to No. 266 Squadron. This was an odd move as No. 266 was training to become a Spitfire squadron. After a few more moves, L5343 was allocated to No. 98 Squadron, which transferred to Coastal Command and on 27 August 1940 moved to Iceland. Its purpose was to defend against any German invasion. Iceland was, of course, a vital air link in the protection of Atlantic convoys.

However, on Friday 13 September 1940, engine failure resulted in a forced landing in the interior of the island, miles from anywhere. A recovery team decided it was not feasible so removed valuable equipment and set fire to the remainder.

There L5343 lay until 1972 when a team from RAF Leeming recovered the wreckage to the UK as the basis for a Battle restoration project. Work really began in 1982 under the guidance of Flt Lt Len Woodgate, Officer Commanding of the RAF St Athan historic collection. Bits and pieces were scavenged from various redundant RAF stores and also from Battle L5340: the breakdown is 40% from L5343; 30% L5340 (from the same Austin Motors batch) and 25% new-build. L5343 first entered RAFM Hendon on 20 March 1990.

Battle L5343 has one very unusual feature – a depiction of a field modification not found in the manufacturer’s drawings and introduced in December 1939. Realising the Battle’s wholly inadequate performance and defensive armament, 500 Battles were scheduled to be fitted at Aircraft Servicing Units with a rear-facing machine gun mounted below the fuselage on a ball joint just aft of the bomb-aimer’s hatch. The Navigator/Bomb Aimer had to lean out of the bomb-aiming hatch to operate the gun to fire downwards to protect the vulnerable underside of the tail where the usual gun could not bear.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FURTHER READING

The National Archives
Air 27/164
Air 35/22
Air 35/31
Air 35/46
Air 35/180
AVIA 14/64/17
AVIA 46/107

‘Royal Air Force 1939-45. Volume 1 “The Fight at Odds”’ Denis Richards HMSO 1974

‘Bomber Command War Diaries: an operational reference book 1939-1945’ Middlebrook and Everitt, Viking 1985

‘For Valour; the air VCs’ Chaz Bowyer Grub Street 1992

‘Works and Bricks: Royal Air Force Station Architecture 1911-1945 Volume 1’ Paul Francis, Airfield Research Group 2022

‘Enemy Coast Ahead’ Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, DFC*, DSO* Pan Books 1955

‘Enemy Coast Ahead Uncensored’ Guy Gibson Crecy Classic 2003 [on sale at RAF Hendon’s shop]

‘Bomber Offensive’ Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris GCB. OBE, AFC Collins 1947

‘Bomber Command The strategic bombing offensive 1939-45’ Max Hastings Pan Military Classics/Macmillan 1979

‘Stopping Hitler: an official account of how Britain planned to defend itself in the Second World War’ Captain GC Wynne Frontline Books

Cemetery photos are courtesy of The War Graves Photographic Project

20 January 2023
The RAF Museum London is Dementia Friendly
Dementia Friendly Venues Charter

In 2021 The Mayor of London launched the world’s first Dementia Friendly Venues Charter for cultural public spaces in a drive to ensure that every Londoner with dementia and their carers has a dementia-friendly cultural venue on their doorstep. There are around 72,000 people living with dementia in London. All of these people deserve easy and impactful access to culture, something we wholeheartedly believe at the Royal Air Force Museum. That is why we quickly signed up to begin our journey towards becoming accredited as a Dementia Friendly Venue. We worked hard, created new content and re-examined how we operate, so it was with great eagerness and excitement that we were officially accredited as a Dementia Friendly Venue in June 2022. Becoming accredited meant working towards five key principles.

Five Key Principles
1. Knowledge – increasing understanding by making sure that the staff/volunteers can support people living with dementia by ensuring that they have the right training, knowledge and guidance. This includes ideas and examples of best practice to support people with dementia.
2. Inclusivity – being inclusive by ensuring the environment is welcoming by having staff who are specifically trained and on hand to assist those visitors who may need extra help along with specific dementia-friendly/inclusive programming.
3. Accessibility – being accessible by making sure that the physical space meets the needs of those who are affected by dementia by providing some examples of these potential barriers.
4. Communication – communicating clearly by making sure that all marketing material/communications are all dementia-friendly. Meaning that wording and format can easily be understood.
5. Sustainability – working together by enabling organisations to involve people living with dementia in their planning, programming, engagement, and evaluation.
What Did We Do?

We are lucky that the Museum has already worked hard on improving physical accessibility across our site. We have accessible seating, the majority of our flooring is even and we have wheelchairs and mobility scooters available to help people access our very large site. The Museum also has an access panel who are consulted on new exhibition layouts and features to ensure that they are as accessible as possible.

Although our physical spaces may not have undergone a huge transformation, we worked hard at changing attitudes and the way we work behind the scenes. We knew from the start that without the buy-in of all staff and having our Senior Leadership Team on board there was no way we would be able to implement meaningful change. Because of this, we started by speaking to our Senior Leadership Team about why we felt it was important to become accredited with the Charter and thankfully, but not surprisingly, received nothing but support to move the project forward.

We were really pleased to also recruit a trustee to champion the cause and raise dementia friendly matters at board level. Our next step was to let everyone who works and volunteers at the Museum know what being Dementia Friendly meant and how it would impact them and their work. We’re fortunate to have all-staff webinars regularly and were able to introduce the charter virtually to colleagues.

One of the key contributors to our success in becoming dementia friendly was the ability to provide Dementia Friends Information sessions in-house. By having two members of the Access and Learning Team trained as Dementia Friends Champions (now called Dementia Friends Ambassadors), we can implement a rolling training programme for Museum staff and volunteers. Around four times a year we offer Information sessions – creating Dementia Friends across all of our Museum’s departments. Running these sessions regularly means that we catch new members of staff; ensuring that as many people as possible are Dementia Friends and show their new status by wearing their lovely forget-me-not badge.

One fun project we undertook was to film and edit a pre-visit video which can be viewed on our website. This video explains what can be found in each hangar, practical information about arriving at and navigating the Museum and tips on when the best times might be to visit. It’s designed to familiarise visitors living with dementia with the Museum before they step foot on site. The film with enable them to plan their visit armed with far more knowledge and confidence.

Next Steps

Becoming a Dementia Friendly Venue is a process which doesn’t stop with accreditation. We are looking forward to the next year and the next steps that we can put in place to grow as an organisation and explore more ways that we can make visiting and accessing our collections as easy and enjoyable as possible for people living with Dementia. One of our short term projects is to research and create a new sensory map. This map will enable people living with dementia to better plan their visit. It will ensure that they can comfortably navigate our site, knowing which areas have things like low lighting or loud noises.

A longer-term goal is to include people with lived experience of dementia on our access panel. We want to embed dementia friendly practice across our Museum and we cannot do this without involving people living with dementia and their family and carers at all different stages of the Museum’s planning. As an accredited venue we are part of the London Arts & Culture Dementia-Friendly Network. This comprises a group of organisations and venues all on a dementia friendly journey. We’ve already been able to share our progress with the network and it will be invaluable moving forward as we pick up new ideas and best practice from the group. We’re also working with our local council on a bid for Barnet to become a Dementia Friendly Borough. As part of this we’re sharing our experiences and encouraging other arts and cultural venues to take the plunge and become Dementia Friendly venues.
12 October 2022
The first flight of the Spitfire

Without any doubt, the Spitfire is the most famous British fighter aircraft in history. In use shortly before the Second World War, it became the main RAF fighter aircraft from 1941 onward, and remained with fighter squadrons until the early 1950s.

Let me take you back to the origins of the Spitfire. It is well known that the Supermarine racing seaplanes which participated in the Schneider race were an inspiration for the Spitfire. Designed by Reginald J Mitchell, the Supermarine S6B was an all-metal and aerodynamically clean design, allowing it to reach the impressive speed of 407 mph (656 km/h).

Only 18 days following the 1931 S6B’s Schneider triumph, the British Air Ministry issued Specification F7/30, which called for a modern all-metal land-based fighter aircraft. Mitchell responded with the Model 224, a monoplane with a fixed landing gear. Its complicated cooling system did not function properly, and the Air Ministry ordered the Gloster Gladiator biplane instead.

Mitchell and his team continued to work on the design, introducing a new Rolls Royce Merlin engine, a retractable landing gear, an enclosed cockpit and a new elliptical wing. Much has been written about this wing design, but the true value of the elliptical wing shape was that it allowed the wing to be as thin as possible, thereby reducing drag.

On 5 March 1936, Spitfire K5054 took off for its maiden flight. At the controls was Captain Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers, chief test pilot for Vickers, who is quoted as saying ‘Don’t touch anything’ on landing. This had often been interpreted as stating the Spitfire was perfect, but the reality was more prosaic: he wanted to report his observations before any modifications were made.

Only few changes were made; one of which was a new propeller which dramatically increased the maximum speed to 348 mph (557 km/h), making it the faster than the newest Hawker Hurricane fighter which, around that time, was entering production. The armament was doubled from four to eight Browning machine guns.

On 3 June 1936, the Air Ministry placed an order for 310 Spitfires, an impressive number for its time. However, the Spitfire and especially its wings proved to be difficult to produce. The Spitfire’s stressed-skin construction required precision engineering skills and techniques which were rare in the aviation industry.

Supermarine had only a small factory which meant production had to be given to several subcontractors as well as the building a new factory at Castle Bromwich. However, this handover was badly managed, resulting in further delays. Because of these delays, the Air Ministry initially planned to stop production after the initial order for 310 with the Spitfire production going over to other designs, such as the new Hawker Typhoon. Luckily for the RAF, production of the Spitfire ramped up, as the Typhoon ran into great development issues, delaying its entry into service until late 1941.

The first Spitfire Mk. I to enter service with the RAF did so with No. 19 Squadron on 4 August 1938. The pilots immediately fell in love with the aircraft, which flew as wonderful as it looked. They recognised it as a thoroughbred combining a perfection of design with superb handling characteristics.

More changes were gradually introduced such as a three-bladed metal propeller and a new cockpit hood, finally giving the Spitfire its now-recognisable look. By the outbreak of the Second World War, there were 306 Spitfires in service with the RAF, 71 in reserve and 2,000 on order. Initially, most Spitfires were held back in Britain, with the Hawker Hurricane and Gloster Gladiator doing most of the fighting against the German Luftwaffe in Norway, Belgium and France.

The Spitfire came to the fore during the evacuation of Dunkirk, and of course, the Battle of Britain. After 1940 the Spitfire gradually replaced the Hurricane in Fighter Command and remained the main fighter aircraft until the end of the war.

5 March 2021
A Letter from 11 November 1918

The RAF Museum’s Archives hold a letter, written by Lieutenant Ronald FH Norman of No. 55 Squadron to his mother on 11 November 1918, Armistice Day. It is a letter in which he wonders if there were any celebrations around Buckingham Palace. (There were!) However, he also explains to his mother how on the previous day, he was on a raid in which his leader was shot down by ‘Archie’, their nickname for anti-aircraft fire.

We now know that this leader was 2nd Lieutenant Harry CT Gompertz. He had previously served with the Royal Field Artillery, but transferred to the Royal Flying Corps in August 1917. An observer and successful air gunner with 55 Squadron in 1918, he was captured on 10 November when his Airco DH4 was shot down during a raid on Thionville. Unfortunately, the pilot of the DH4, Captain Duncan RG Mackay died of his wounds the next day. This makes Mackay one of the last, if not the last, casualty of the RAF during the First World War.

No. 55 Squadron was part of the Independent Air Force, which in turn was part of the Royal Air Force. In fact, the Independent Force was to some extent the raison d’être of the RAF. When German airships and later bomber aircraft attacked targets in Britain, the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service did not have the capabilities of attacking Germany. In 1917 the decision was taken to unify both forces into the Royal Air Force, separate from the Army and Navy.

On 6 June 1918, a few weeks after the creation of the RAF on 1 April 1918, the Independent Air Force came into being. Some squadrons, like No. 55 Squadron operated at daytime, while others were dedicated night bomber squadrons. Some of these flew heavy Handley-Page O/400, which could carry up to 2,000 lb of bombs.

Although the Independent Air Force was stood down after the war, lessons learned were later applied to Bomber Command, which became a decisive weapon during the Second World War.

The transcript of Lieutenant Ronald FH Norman’s letter is as follows:

My darling mother,

I wonder how England is celebrating the temporary cessations of hostilities? I suppose much cheering about Buckingham Palace – mostly by those who have leave. Seen a shot fired in anger yesterday – providing the Hun keeps his contract – we did our last show – and it was a pretty bad one at that. I was deputy leader in the second raid – and I got through with only a few hits. Funnily enough though the peace rumours were very strong – the Hun anti-aircraft guns were better than they have ever been. We only saw 6 Hun machines – and they did not offer battle, so we had no fun in that line. It was a bad show for us – as the raid leader of No1 raid – was shot down by a direct hit by Archie just as we were wearing the line. I did three voluntary shows the day before – flying at 100ft in mist – I only reached my objective once – as the mist became too thick – and I had to abandon the attempt – after spending some two hours on the Boche side looking for the said objectives.

I was standing by for the raid this morning and had just started my engine – when the order came through that we were to standby to move anywhere at any minute. It will not be England for some weeks as the Hun will need our presence – to make him realise that we mean to carry out the terms laid down in the Armistice.

By the way, I have got my flight – at least I expect to hear officially tomorrow, when I shall be Captain Norman. I have done 12 hours since I have been with 55 Sqdn ranging, in miles, from 30 to 110. I shot down my first Hun – on the raid before last. Except for a 2 hour display by the bombing (? word hard to read) officer – with some £100 worth of rockets etc. we have been very quiet. I am just off to bed – feeling very tired – but not in the least excited – I can hardly realise that the war has temporarily ceased.

My love to all,

Roland

This temporary cessation was ratified by the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919. A treaty that, rather than bringing permanent peace to a war weary world, was to usher in yet another world war within a generation.

11 November 2018