Saturday saw the annual Trooping of the Colour ceremony at Horseguards, an event that has taken place for centuries but which was notable for it being the first one wit King Charles III in attendance. Normally it is a bit of a pain to do tours in Whitehall when Trooping of the Colour is on… Continue reading The RAF Flypast at the 2023 Trooping of the Colour
Tag: RAF
How a dyslexic schoolgirl helped design the Spitfire!
With its graceful curves, elliptical wings and distinctive engine sound, the Spitfireis a British icon. A status solidified since its heroic efforts in the Battle of Britain in 1940. The Spitfire is the most famous fighter aircraft in British aviation history and has a fighting chance at perhaps being the most famous plane in history. More than any… Continue reading How a dyslexic schoolgirl helped design the Spitfire!
The Endcliffe Park Memorial in Sheffield & the incredible devotion of Tony Foulds.
It isn’t often that a tale of war has anything like a happy moment but in recent weeks increasing numbers of people have become aware of a terrible accident in 1944, just one of countless up and down the country that happened in those dark years, Tony Foulds, 82, was just eight years old when… Continue reading The Endcliffe Park Memorial in Sheffield & the incredible devotion of Tony Foulds.
RAF Icons of the Jet-Age
Concluding my short series of blog posts on iconic RAF planes to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Air Force we finally reach the period that most of us are best familiar with. The age of the jet engine. Frank Whittle invented the jet engine in 1930 though it was Germany that got the… Continue reading RAF Icons of the Jet-Age
WW2 icons of the RAF
Following on from my RAF100 post the Sopwih Camel and WW1… By 1940 the awesome might of Hitler’s Luftwaffe had been displayed in the lightning blitzkrieg offensive that annexed France in six weeks. In the aftermath the British had managed to rescue more than 300,000 troops from Dunkirk with a hastily cobbled together flotilla during… Continue reading WW2 icons of the RAF
The legendary Sopwith Camel – Icon of WW1 fliers
The first really star plane of the Royal AirForce was the Sopwith Camel which was already in service for the Royal Flying Corps. The Camel grew out of the Sopwith Pup, a little fighter introduced in 1916, but which was soon outclassed by the German Albatroses and Halberstadts. Its name derived from the slight hump… Continue reading The legendary Sopwith Camel – Icon of WW1 fliers
100 Years of the RAF
This week sees the 100th anniversary of the oldest dedicated air force in the world, the Royal Airforce or RAF. The formation of the RAF was partly a bureaucratic cost-saving exercise by the Prime Minister Lloyd George. He wanted to bring down the expense of having two air forces in the Royal Flying Corps and… Continue reading 100 Years of the RAF
Animation of Allied bombing raids on Nazi occupied Europe
I was going to write something entirely different today and indeed had even started writing it when I happened across a segment of this newly released animated video by the Imperial War Museum in London which I thought many others would like to see. The animation depicts every single bombing raid by first the RAF… Continue reading Animation of Allied bombing raids on Nazi occupied Europe
75th Anniversary of The Battle of Britain – This was our finest hour
Today marks the start of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the skies of London will be treated once again to the familiar sights and sounds of Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster bombers. As strange as it sounds, I think the sound of a Spitfire Merlin engine is possibly the best man-made noise… Continue reading 75th Anniversary of The Battle of Britain – This was our finest hour
70th Anniversary of D-Day
This time 70 years ago on 6th June 1944, the world held its breath as the largest amphibious military operation even seen was under way. Operation Overlord was the long-awaited Allied invasion of Nazi held Europe that would lead to the liberation of mainland Europe and 70 years of freedom and democracy. D-Day was never… Continue reading 70th Anniversary of D-Day
Stephen Liddell 