O
O.C.
Guest
It was the R.A.F. which struck the first blow for Britain. On September 4th, 1939, a
force of Wellingtons raided the German bases at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, inflicting tremendous damage on the harbour and warships gathered there in, and pressing home the attack with such determination that some of the bombers skimmed the mastheads of the enemy's ships, and the crews were able to see the German sailors scuttling to cover. That raid must have shaken the Germans badly, for it showed them the sort of medicine they could expect from our men in the following weeks
The R.A.F. was divided into divisions consisting of Fighter Squadrons, Bomber
Squadrons, Army Co-operation Squadrons, Coastal Patrol Squadrons, and the Fleet Air Arm. The Fighter Squadrons were Great Britain's chief line of defence against air attack. Every one knows of the glorious deeds of our pilots in their Spitfires and
Hurricanes. Which I have covered in another post on the forum
These single-seater fighters were capable of speed so 367 and 336m.p.h. respectively, but immensely fast as these aeroplanes are they were already being surpassed by new fighters coming into use.
The Bomber Squadrons on the other hand are the R.A.F.'s chief weapon of attack. There are three main kinds of bombers, light, medium, and heavy. The latter are the big boys of the Royal Air Force. They were manned by a crew of five or six men, and were capable of carrying many thousands of pounds of high explosives far into enemy territory. These Battle Bombers could reach a speed of 257 m.p.h.
Army Co-operation Squadrons, as their name implies, work with the ground forces, while the Coastal Patrol Squadrons guarded our long coastline. These Coastal Patrol
Pilots are the hardest worked men in the R.A.F., for they have to be out in all weathers, sunshine, storm, summer or winter, finds them constantly on the job of watching out for hostile aircraft or shipping, guarding our own vessels against
lurking U-boats, and sometimes, when the opportunity offers, bringing down a rash invader marked with the crooked cross.
Actually the Fleet Air Arm is not part of the R.A.F., but. is under the control of the Admiralty. The duties of the pilots are many. They guarded our ships against hostile air attack. When the fleet is at sea they act as scouts, and during an action they help the gunners by sending back wireless messages giving the results of their fire, while now and then there are glorious moments such as that at Taranto, when they set out all on their own to spread havoc among the foe. The planes used on this occasion were Fairey Swordfish Biplanes. These machines could each carry a single torpedo slung under the fuselage, and they must have looked a terrible sight as they come swooping down towards the target till they were within twenty-five feet of the water, when they release their torpedoes at point-blank range, and then, with a roaring engine, zoom up into the sky again, leaving behind them devastation and ruin.
Perhaps the most wonderful aeroplane ever invented is a wooden one. This aeroplane is called the " Queen Bee," and it can take off from land or sea, rise to a height of 10,000 feet, and there perform all the manoeuvres of an ordinary aeroplane, and yet there is no pilot on board. How was that marvel performed? The answer was wireless. Somewhere on the land or on board a ship at sea there is a man sending out radio signals which are picked up by delicate instruments inside the Queen Bee, and according to the signals she receives the pilotless aeroplane will dive and soar, bank this way and that, loop the loop and do anything that her controller desires, while on the earth or the ship below anti-aircraft gunners are trying to shoot down the swiftly-moving target. For that is the purpose of this wonderful wooden aeroplane. She is a target, as near the real thing as human ingenuity can make her, and many a Dornier and Messerschmitt owes its destruction to the skill our gunners learned from shooting at the "Queen Bee."
I have not touched yet on the subject of the Lancaster Bomber a truly great aircraft along with her magnificent crew who had to go on many many endless missions over enemy territory.......Brave, Brave Men All of them and we should never forget the sacrifices they made
Photo 1 is a great shot of the Great pilots who were like ......I'd call it the three musketeers
Photo 2 shows the Men from the Dominions at a Flying training school, in the foreground is a Miles Master
force of Wellingtons raided the German bases at Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, inflicting tremendous damage on the harbour and warships gathered there in, and pressing home the attack with such determination that some of the bombers skimmed the mastheads of the enemy's ships, and the crews were able to see the German sailors scuttling to cover. That raid must have shaken the Germans badly, for it showed them the sort of medicine they could expect from our men in the following weeks
The R.A.F. was divided into divisions consisting of Fighter Squadrons, Bomber
Squadrons, Army Co-operation Squadrons, Coastal Patrol Squadrons, and the Fleet Air Arm. The Fighter Squadrons were Great Britain's chief line of defence against air attack. Every one knows of the glorious deeds of our pilots in their Spitfires and
Hurricanes. Which I have covered in another post on the forum
These single-seater fighters were capable of speed so 367 and 336m.p.h. respectively, but immensely fast as these aeroplanes are they were already being surpassed by new fighters coming into use.
The Bomber Squadrons on the other hand are the R.A.F.'s chief weapon of attack. There are three main kinds of bombers, light, medium, and heavy. The latter are the big boys of the Royal Air Force. They were manned by a crew of five or six men, and were capable of carrying many thousands of pounds of high explosives far into enemy territory. These Battle Bombers could reach a speed of 257 m.p.h.
Army Co-operation Squadrons, as their name implies, work with the ground forces, while the Coastal Patrol Squadrons guarded our long coastline. These Coastal Patrol
Pilots are the hardest worked men in the R.A.F., for they have to be out in all weathers, sunshine, storm, summer or winter, finds them constantly on the job of watching out for hostile aircraft or shipping, guarding our own vessels against
lurking U-boats, and sometimes, when the opportunity offers, bringing down a rash invader marked with the crooked cross.
Actually the Fleet Air Arm is not part of the R.A.F., but. is under the control of the Admiralty. The duties of the pilots are many. They guarded our ships against hostile air attack. When the fleet is at sea they act as scouts, and during an action they help the gunners by sending back wireless messages giving the results of their fire, while now and then there are glorious moments such as that at Taranto, when they set out all on their own to spread havoc among the foe. The planes used on this occasion were Fairey Swordfish Biplanes. These machines could each carry a single torpedo slung under the fuselage, and they must have looked a terrible sight as they come swooping down towards the target till they were within twenty-five feet of the water, when they release their torpedoes at point-blank range, and then, with a roaring engine, zoom up into the sky again, leaving behind them devastation and ruin.
Perhaps the most wonderful aeroplane ever invented is a wooden one. This aeroplane is called the " Queen Bee," and it can take off from land or sea, rise to a height of 10,000 feet, and there perform all the manoeuvres of an ordinary aeroplane, and yet there is no pilot on board. How was that marvel performed? The answer was wireless. Somewhere on the land or on board a ship at sea there is a man sending out radio signals which are picked up by delicate instruments inside the Queen Bee, and according to the signals she receives the pilotless aeroplane will dive and soar, bank this way and that, loop the loop and do anything that her controller desires, while on the earth or the ship below anti-aircraft gunners are trying to shoot down the swiftly-moving target. For that is the purpose of this wonderful wooden aeroplane. She is a target, as near the real thing as human ingenuity can make her, and many a Dornier and Messerschmitt owes its destruction to the skill our gunners learned from shooting at the "Queen Bee."
I have not touched yet on the subject of the Lancaster Bomber a truly great aircraft along with her magnificent crew who had to go on many many endless missions over enemy territory.......Brave, Brave Men All of them and we should never forget the sacrifices they made
Photo 1 is a great shot of the Great pilots who were like ......I'd call it the three musketeers
Photo 2 shows the Men from the Dominions at a Flying training school, in the foreground is a Miles Master
